A Month
by Lion warrior
Summary: The Warriors are taking a little break. As in a whole month. Crazy things start to happen, new faces pop up, and new friends are made. And each day just brings more and more surprises. Though some hilarious and fun, others are dramatic and heartfelt. And all because a certain red panda was just trying looking out for his students.
1. Chapter 1

**A Month**

 **Don't own Kung Fu Panda**

Day 1: Sunday

* * *

"A MONTH! A WHOLE MONTH!" Tigress shouted. Master Shifu shook his head. This was hard for the warriors to understand, but Shifu was trying to explain it the best he could.

"I know that you are all shocked, but this is needed so that the masters can be safe and secured; in order not to have another incident like Shen did," Master Shifu replied.

"I understand the masters must come to the Palace," Po relayed, "I also understand that the new Kung Fu act says that we have to give them our rooms and house them. I have no problem with that. I'm even okay with them fighting here. But I don't understand why WE have to take a whole month off, especially me, the Dragon Warrior."

"I know this is confusing, but you must trust me on this one. A month's rest will do you good," Master Shifu replied.

"I understand that. But I'm the Dragon Warrior who's just learn his Kung Fu. I'm not complaining about the rest, I'm just wondering why it's so long," Po said. Shifu sighed. It was tough to explain why he had to do this for Po. This month would help him train in some way. Shifu just didn't know how. The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior would have the not day, not week, not two weeks, but the whole month to themselves. The Masters' Council of Kung Fu had made a decree that for a time in the year, masters would rotate and/or protect the people in the new local land. The thing was the Furious Five and Po were suppose to be switched out to go to another place. They were making them a paid leave. It was very unusual which is why they were all arguing about. But Shifu replied.

"I know this confuses you, but look on the bright side: you all will be able to rest and have some peace and quiet from each other. You can still train without the use of the Training Hall and my help. You can also help the masters when trouble arises. Why don't you all go home for the month or have a vacation and relax? Don't worry about everything," Shifu said as he walked away. So that's how they left. A confused band of heroes left the Jade Palace for a month. As they descended the stairs, they talked and talked about what they would do.

"I'm going to my parents' house. They haven't seen me in a while. Plus, I was hoping to bring them here and show them around a bit," Viper spoke.

"That's nice. I'm going to stay over with my brother," Monkey said. Everyone stopped and stared at Monkey. "The OTHER one." That eased their worry.

"I'm going to live it up at the resort that I've booked. Thank you paid vacation," Mantis cheered.

"Haha, well, I'm going to see my mother and see if she's okay. We all should be back in a week so it won't be that bad," Crane mentioned.

"What about you Tigress?" Viper asked the pouting tiger.

"I don't even know where I'm going to stay for the night," Tigress stated.

"My dad has some room at our place. You can stay with us. And don't worry, you won't hear the snoring from my room," Po said making everyone stop again, "What?"

"You're letting Tigress sleep in your bed?" Mantis said as Tigress's eyes were wide open and had a burning sensation in her cheeks.

"I'll sleep somewhere else," Po replied. That eased Tigress's thoughts.

"Where?" Viper asked.

"We have plenty of room in the kitchen, don't worry about me," Po said chuckling about how they were making a small situation big.

"Po, I couldn't do that. I'll just find somewhere else to sleep or camp outside," Tigress argued, but Po was persistent.

"No no, I insist. I'll be working most of the time and doing errands while you could practice and train in the forest. You won't even have to do deal with me," Po said. Seeing that Po wasn't going to ease up, Tigress nodded and agreed to it.

"So what will you be doing Po?" Viper asked.

"It's probably going to be a very boring month. I'll be working at my dad's shop and doing other things. Who knows what will happens?" Po shrugged.

"Well, when we come back," Crane said as they came to the bottom of the mountain, "We'll get together and do something. We promise!"

"Okay, see you guys," Po said waving good-bye to the others. Tigress and Po went into Mr. Ping's shop where he was no where to be found.

"Where is your father, Po?" Tigress asked.

"Oh, he's out on an errand. The shop's closed for about two days until he gets back. In the meanwhile I have to get some things for the shop, too," Po sighed. It seemed like Po was very busy. Tigress was amazed at how the panda was able to do all the stuff he did. As they reached Po's room, Tigress noticed that Po's room was cleaned up and all the posters and dolls were gone. "My dad cleaned my room and gave some of my stuff to me since I'm living at the Jade Palace."

"Um...thanks Po for letting my stay here. Are you sure that your dad's okay with guests sleeping here?" Tigress questioned. Po waved it away.

"Please, dad's always taking in guests. One that's my friend won't make a big difference," Po smiled, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." When he descended down the stairs, Tigress sat in her bed thinking. This situation was just all confusing and nerve-wrecking. Away from the palace for a month, not being able to train with Master Shifu, and having somebody else do her work was something that Tigress was not use to all at the same time. And then staying with Po would be a real interesting situation. Sure she lived with him, but she never saw how he was truly like in the valley. She guessed it was pretty much the same panda, but it was still something that intrigued her, even though she didn't show it. A whole month with no training or problems. It was going to be a very interesting thirty days.

 **To be continued**


	2. Day 2

Day 2: Monday

* * *

It was a frightening startle for Tigress the first time she woke in her new bed. A startle because someone was playing their violin very loudly outside her door. Tigress looked over the window still and saw in the window below a duck practicing his violin. Unfortunately, the violin was out of tune and the player didn't know how to play it anyways. Tigress held her ears as the horrible music sounded from outside. Just then, Po came in to her room. "Oops, I'm sorry about that. My friend across the street usually plays his violin at morning. Let me take care of that," He said, running down stairs then coming back up. He had in his hand a bow and arrow.

"What are you doing?" Tigress asked.

"Trust me," Po replied. Po took aim at the window still. Letting go of the arrow, it flew at the window still, ricocheted off of it and bounced around in the house until finally Tigress heard a thud. Her eyes became wide fearing the worst. But then she saw a duck coming out with a smile looking at Po.

"Oh hey Po! What seems to be the problem?" He called.

"Hey, Jung. Listen, I have guests over for a while so could you please tone down your music for about a month," Po asked.

"Oh of course, my bad malady," Jung said bowing to Tigress. With that, he closed the shutters to the window and continued to play; now the music was quieter.

"Sorry about that. He's trying to learn how to play the violin. He's trying his best," Po apologized.

"Why did you have to use the bow and arrow? You could have harmed him," Tigress said sternly angry at Po for doing something so careless.

"Don't worry. I know how to use this thing," Po replied going down stairs. Tigress got up and followed after him.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Tigress asked.

"From friends. I didn't always have this boring soup-making life as you guys keep thinking," Po countered.

"We don't think that," Tigress said defensively. Po looked at her with an unbelieving look. "Well, we don't do that now. We've changed." Po smiled and shook his head.

"So are you going to be training out in the woods today?" Po guessed.

"Well, I've decided to take Master Shifu's advice. I'm going to help you with the shop," Po stopped stirring the pot he had. He looked straight at Tigress with eyes so wide they would later hurt. "What?"

"You **_not_** going to train and staying to help me with the place? That's a new one even for me," Po replied.

"That's not the point," Tigress growled, "Besides, I can have fun."

"Tigress, you don't have to prove anything to me or anyone. It's a slow day so I won't be doing much. You'll be bored out of your mind," Po warned.

"Doesn't matter. Today, I learn what you do while we're not looking," Tigress said.

"But you already know what I do," Po smiled, "Eat, fight, and eat." Tigress rolled his eyes but nevertheless smiled. "Well, I have to visit an old friend. My dad wanted to see him before he left."

"Where does he live?" Tigress asked. Po's face grimaced as he tried to get the looming weight off. When Po was done, they left to go to the friend. The friend lived in one of the worst parts of town Tigress ever saw. She didn't know this part of town even existed. The roads were completely made out of dirt; the houses were crumbling or demolished; Tigress saw people in huts and tents while children in ragged clothes ran around chasing each other. You would think that a place like this would be completely miserable, but, as Tigress saw, they were happy. These weren't exactly poor people. Some were hermits trying to gain enlightenment. Others were people trying to live a simpler lifestyle, which proved very good for their physique. Po and Tigress walked down the dirt road looking down to a house that looked too small for them to stand up in. There in the corner of the room, sat a little duck on a sick bed.

"Hey Huang, it's me and a friend," Po greeted.

"Oh it's you, Po! Come in, come in. I wasn't expecting you today," Huang said, "Aren't you suppose to be training at the Jade Palace?"

"I'm off for a while," Po explained as he set his bag of stuff down, "Mr. Huang, this is my friend, Master Tigress." Tigress bowed as they sat down.

"Oh it is good to see you, Mrs. Ping," Huang said gladly. Tigress and Po looked at each other in confusion.

"Mrs. Ping?" Po asked.

"Isn't this your wife?" Huang asked.

"No! whoa whoa! No We're just...friends," Tigress and Po exclaimed awkwardly.

"Oooh, so you're still with that Lin girl," Huang struggled as he sat up in his bed. Po rubbed the back of his head, and Tigress stared at him with a surprised and mildly angered face.

"Lin?" Tigress repeated.

"Um...well, kind of. She and I haven't really been together lately with all the work and all. I...guess I should talk to her someday soon," Po nervously said.

"Well, other than that, how's life?" Huang asked. And like that, they started their causal conversation. Tigress was quiet for the most part. She was still trying to figure out what this 'Lin' person was doing in Po's life. After Po was done with their visit, they said their good-bye's to Huang and went back to the shop. Upon entering the shop, Tigress asked,

"Who's Lin?" Po's eyes widened as his nerves rose.

"Um...she's a fox lady that I've been seeing. She and I grew up together and we've always been friends," Po explained.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't think it was all that important."

"Do you like her?" Tigress asked in a hint of earnest.

"Well," Po started as he sat down in one of the chairs, "Yeah. I was wanting to tell her that, but I've been afraid ever since. Plus, every time I try, there is a mission or an emergency that I have to tend to. What should I do?" Tigress was conflicted about this. She had no idea about how to help Po. She just shrugged. Po sighed. "Well, I'll just stick to being in the friend zone for a while." Po looked at the position of the sun. "It's getting late. I'll get the shop ready for tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll go to bed," Tigress said. As she climbed the stairs to her bed, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward about Po's visit with Huang. She did learn a side of Po she never knew, but she wasn't expecting this. There was something else she was experiencing. Something that she couldn't put her finger on. It was confusing. She figured she could sleep her troubles away. However, the next day just made those troubles more confusing.

 **To be continued.**


	3. Day 3

Day 3: Tuesday

* * *

If yesterday was weird, then today was wacky. Po got up early in the morning to tend to the shop. It would be one more day before Mr. Ping came back. It was also the day that Po had something special in mind for Lin. Lin's house was not very far from Po's, but the trip there was nerve wrecking every time. Would this be the day that he would say what he wanted? Or this day? So every time he went there, Lin always wondered why he was sweating.

The fox and the panda were very good friends, Po remembered that. He also remembered all the times they had together, especially when he was an early teen. One day, he and Lin were working in Mr. Ping's shop. She would help if she didn't have anything to do. However, on this day it was very...distant between the two. Lin was thinking about boys, and Po was wondering how to get her attention. So with their brains occupied, they didn't really talk that much until a certain person came into the shop. A snow leopard boy about the height of Po at this age, 5'10". He was well dressed, neat, and seemed to carry himself very well with his smirk. His smirk was a little crooked with the left side slightly higher than the other when he smiled. Po's glare would always surface when he came in. This was Lin's boyfriend.

"Hey Gu," Lin greeted with a kiss on his lips. Po's glare disappeared when Lin looked at him, "We're going to the show tonight. They're presenting Kung Fu dancing artists! You want to come Po?" Po's fake smile was enough to fool anyone. It was something that he would later regret as being...a liar.

"No, I'm good. You two have a good time," Po said faking happiness.

"Oh we will," Gu smiled crookedly as Lin's giggle filled the open-air room. They left into the night. Po's mind wandered as he continued to clean the tables. Lin and Po had been friends for as long as they could remember, but Po knew Lin always saw him as a brother, and that was a line Po didn't want to cross anytime soon. Lin would help Po with his homework and problems, and Po would help her with the boy troubles and many other things in return. It was, in Po's mind, taunting because she kept discussing other people she was interested in and not Po. All these things flooded Po's mind until he heard a cry and sobbing. He snapped out of his thinking to realize it was dark, and Lin had just come into the shop crying. Po caught her in his arms.

"What's the matter, Lin? What happened?" Po asked.

"He ditched me," Lin said weeping.

"What?" Po said still confused.

"Gu dumped me. He dumped me and went with another...filthy putz!" she said bitterly. Po lead her to the table and sat her down, still crying. "Why? Why do I have to attract the wrong guys? Guys are just idiotic stupid people!"

"'Ouch' said a guy," Po said a little insulted.

"I'm sorry Po. I didn't mean you. You've always helped me in these times. What should I do?" Lin questioned with pleading eyes. Po sighed and wondered what to say. Then it came. The moment of truth that would sprout from his mouth. Unfortunately, it wasn't what he expected.

"Have you ever thought that you might just be too...impatient?" Po asked. Lin was confused. Po wiped her tears from her red fox fur. "Lin, you're 14 and have a whole life ahead of you. You don't know all there is to know. Gu is the kind of person that uses people for his own pleasure."

"You knew?" Po looked away ashamed.

"I didn't want to tell you because I thought that you would think I was...being a jerk," Po spoke carefully. Lin hugged her panda brother.

"Oh Po, I'll never think of you like that. You're my best friend and I love you like a big brother," Lin replied. Though it would still put him in the 'relative zone', Po hugged back the fox that was his sister.

"My, how things have changed," Po said as he came out of his reminiscence. Kung Fu, Dragon Warrior training, and finding out your birth place can really take a person away. When he was chosen to be Dragon Warrior, he was taken out of his regular cycle. It had been two years since he last saw Lin, and she lived just two blocks. His thought process was interrupted when Tigress came down. "Did you sleep well?" Po asked. Tigress looked at the panda with a small tiredness in her eyes. "Apparently not. What's wrong?"

"I...couldn't sleep," Tigress said resisting a little. She didn't want to tell him that she had some disturbing thoughts last night. "Thanks for the breakfast. So what's the plan for today?"

"Well, I'm going to Lin's house," Po said. He thought he heard Tigress spit up something, but he looked to only see her staring at him. After the brief awkward staring, Tigress resumed to eating her breakfast that Po made.

"For what?" Tigress asked stuttering over her words a little. Po shrugged.

"Just to see her, you know. Maybe I'll tell her that I use to like her," Po replied shocking him and Tigress. That last part was really random, but Po spoke it nonetheless.

"Aaa" Tigress couldn't get her words out. She cleared her throat and continued, "That would be good. She deserves to know. I know that I would if someone were to like me." Po looked at Tigress with a bit of sadness in his eye.

"I guess you're right. It's not like it would destroy our friendship. Lin's too caring for something stupid like that," Po said, "By noon, I'll go over to her house." Tigress was speechless. She didn't know what to say.

By noon time, Po was already down the road to Lin's house. "Why did you want to come with me again?" Po asked Tigress. Tigress thought for a moment. It was really just an impulse that made her do it, so she didn't have a real reason.

"I just didn't want to be left alone bored at the shop," She replied simply. As they reached the house, something obvious was apparent. One: lots of people were in the house. Two: a celebration of some kind was going on. Po and Tigress entered the party to see animals all over the place. "I'll get you some food," Tigress said knowing he would be hungry. Po chuckled.

"You know me so well," Po smiled. Po looked through the crowd as Tigress got food. Finally, he saw Lin in a pretty white dress. Po then saw Lin holding the hand of another fox. A male fox. He was decorated in the a fancy...wedding suit. Po's brain made the connection as Lin spotted him. She squeezed and struggled through the crowd with her husband in hand and got to Po.

"Po!" she exclaimed wrapping her arms around his waist, "It's so good to see you again. Gen, this is my best friend, Po. Po, this is my husband, Gen." Po could see that Gen was nervous meeting new people because he was very awkward with his bowing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Po. My wife has told me of the many times you've helped her," Gen thanked as Lin blushed a little, "I will struggle to do the same."

"Okay then. But you'll have to deal with her craziness as well," Po joked receiving a punch from an embarrassed Lin. Gen smiled.

"I will do my best," Gen bowed as he left them alone to tend to the other guests. While Lin's back was turned, Tigress came up to Po and whispered to him.

"I'm guessing that you already realize what type of party this is," She whispered sadly. Po sighed as he nodded. When Lin turned around to see Tigress, her face lit up.

"Oh, is this your wife too?" Po and Tigress looked at each other with confused faces. Why was everyone thinking that they were a couple recently?

"No, no, she's just my friend that will be staying with me for a while," Po recovered.

"Oh, well stay a while. Have some tea, have some cake, have anything except my husband," Lin joked as Po laughed again. My how things have changed.

As Tigress and Po returned to the shop late in the evening, Po was looking down at the ground for the majority of the time. Tigress was clueless about what to say, but she tried her best anyways. "I'm sorry that happened. I guess it must have been hard for you," She said trying to empathize, though she couldn't very clearly. Po took a big sigh.

"Not really. I mean, I knew that I was always a brother to her and telling her would have only complicated things," Po replied.

"So you're not upset?"

"I'm glad, actually, because she's happy and found the man she wanted. I guess it's like seeing your child grow up. I don't know. But I'm fine with it," Po said truly smiling. As they entered the shop, Po's mind thought a question. "Tigress, I know that we're just sparring partners and comrades, but what do you see me as?" Speechless again! Tigress couldn't say. Rather, she would not say.

"Um...I'm not really...comfortable with those types of questions," She answered honestly. Po shrugged. He guessed it was just as a partner. "I'm going to bed now," She said, "Good night." She rushed up the stairs.

"Good night," Po replied. Interesting what a question will escalate to.

 **to be continued**


	4. Day 4

Day 4: Wednesday

* * *

"Of course she can stay. Why would you ever doubt that, Po?" Mr. Ping said cheerfully. Tigress bowed to the little goose.

"Thank you Mr. Ping for opening up your doors to me," Tigress thanked. Mr. Ping bowed back and went back to unpacking from the long trip. It was half past eight in the morning when he got back, and he was worn out from the trip. Tigress walked over to Po stirring a pot of noodles. "Um...Po? Will I be sleeping right next to Mr. Ping?" She asked worried.

"Don't worry. I made the door so that you can't hear his snoring. If you can even call it that," Po remarked. "Well, I'll be here working in the shop. You can go out training if you want. I'll be with you after work." Tigress nodded as she headed out.

But she didn't go to the woods where she would train. She headed down to the old dirt road with shacks and broken down houses. There was someone that she wanted to meet. Huang seemed like an interesting character to be taught from. She just wanted to understand how he and Po knew each other. Tigress finally got down to the old duck's house. Huang was his bed with a white blanket covering him. He noticed someone in the door. "Who's there?"

"It's me, Master Tigress. I was the person you saw with Po when he last came here," Tigress announced.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you here," Huang said genuinely surprised, "What brings you here, dear?"

"I was wondering about how you met Po?" Tigress asked.

"Oh, I met Po when he was just a baby. I've been like a grandfather to him, or so he tells me. I'm just an old man that's a friend of his dad. Nothing special," Huang confessed. This disappointed Tigress a bit.

"So there is nothing that you can teach me? Nothing that you gave Po?" Huang looked at her with a suspicious look.

"Why are you here?" He asked confused about her reason for these questions.

"Well, I was just wondering if you could teach me anything," She said only fibbing slightly. What she really wanted was to figure out this other part of Po that she didn't know about. So far, she wasn't getting anywhere.

"Oh, so you're the type of person who wants to learn the arts," Huang guessed to which Tigress nodded. "Well, unless you count tile throwing an art then I can't help you." Tigress was disappointed.

"Oh," Was all she could say.

"You know you remind me a lot about my friend. He went all around to find what he wanted," Huang said lying back down into his bed. Tigress rested her head on her hand half interested.

"What happened to him?" Tigress asked trying not be rude. She had lost interest in the conversation.

"Well, he went up the mountain of the Jade Palace and then came down saying, 'I've unlocked all the secrets of Kung Fu.'" Tigress instantly realized who he was talking about.

"You knew Oogway?" She asked. Huang nodded proudly.

"He was one of my best friends. We hung out together. He was always fair and wanted to do everything in his power to help others. He was also very weird sometimes. He would call us all together to tell us some bizarre stories of his dreams. He would have dreams of 'hu-mans', what ever those are."

"What was he like in his youth?" Tigress asked completely interested.

"Very very awkward. He was always having some pretend game that we would play. The sad part is that sometimes he would play by himself because he didn't have any friends, or family."

"You mean...he was an orphan?" Huang nodded. It made sense to Tigress. For some reason, the Jade Palace had accepted numerous orphans all the time. Maybe that was Oogway's way of giving people a better life than he had.

"It was interesting to say the least. He wasn't always this above the earth, head in the clouds type of guy. He was very down to earth, but I think that's what he hated. He despited liars, cheaters, and everything wrong. He wanted to be separated from these things. So he went up to the mountain trying to find some purpose of meaning. To try and figure out what he exactly found is something that I've never bothered to asked, but he came down the mountain having discovered Kung Fu and the rest is history."

"Wow," Tigress marveled at the story, "Up till now I never knew about Oogway's whole story. Master Shifu never told me about him." Huang struggled to sit up right in bed.

"My my! Nearly everyone knows that. You need to get outside the palace more often," Huang commented. Tigress graced a smiled. "Mind play Mahjong with me for a while?"

They played until the afternoon, and Tigress went back to the shop. There she saw Po, standing there very anxious. When he saw Tigress, he took a sigh relief. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you," Po said clearly worried and concerned.

"Don't worry, I was with Huang," She replied. Po's eyes spoke suspicion.

"Why?"

"I just wanted to ask some questions," She growled in a way that Po didn't asked anymore questions after that. "And then we played Mahjong."

"WHAT!" Po exclaimed, "You have to be very very careful when playing Mahjong with Huang!"

"Why?" Tigress asked. Po exhaled as his eyes spoke shock.

"Huang use to be and still is a deadly knife thrower. A lot of his knives and weapons would look like Mahjong tiles, so when he would play a losing move, then he would use the tile to kill his target," Po described graphically. Tigress was shocked.

"Well, he _did_ have something to teach me," Tigress marveled.

"What?" Po said confused.

"Nothing," Tigress recovered, "Come on, we can still practice and train."

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," Po groaned as Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Come on!" She commanded as the two went into the woods to spar. When they went into the sparring ring that they set out, they began their fighting. As they were sparring, Po asked.

"So what were you talking to Huang about?" Po asked as she ducked from one of his punches. As Tigress was below his waist, she couldn't think of a good enough lie to tell him. So she kicked him in the gut. "OWW! Tigress!"

"Sorry," Tigress replied. She didn't mean to hurt him that hard. Just enough for him to forget the question. But it didn't work.

"You didn't answer to question," Po observed. Tigress put down her hands as a sign to stop the fight. She decided to tell the truth.

"Well, I wanted to see if there was a side of you that I-WE didn't know about," Tigress recovered. This confused Po.

"Why would you do that? I'm the same guy here and the same at the palace," Po said.

"Yes, but you didn't tell us about Huang and Lin. What I'm saying is you know everything about us but we hardly know anything about you," Tigress clarified. Po thought about what she said. He finally nodded. Besides what he told them, the others didn't really know Po all that well.

"Well you could just ask me," Po stated.

"I know, but it just seems...weird," Tigress muscled out. Po rubbed the back of his neck. Yeah, it would be weird.

"So now that you know I'm pretty much a consistent guy, what are you going to do?" Po asked. Tigress smirked as she got back into her fighting stance.

"I'm going to see how many times I can flip the panda," She said mischievously. Po smirked back.

"Oh, bring it on," Po replied.

 **To be continued**


	5. Day 5

Day 5: Thursday

* * *

The next day did have some weird interaction with Po and Tigress. Tigress woke up again to the light from the sun pouring into her room. She got up, yawned, stretched her whole body. "I'm guessing that you had a good night?" Said a person in her room. Tigress jumped into her fighting stance as she realized that Po was standing right in front of her. "Hm, I didn't know that you could be startled," Po noticed.

"I was not startled," Tigress recovered, "I was just making sure that you were...prepared." Po smiled knowingly. She was lying, but he wouldn't expose her for that. Her pride was something she held dearly. Tigress looked at the tray of food and steaming noodles. "Is this for me?"

"Yeah, the shop is kinda full so there wasn't any room for us," Po explained.

"You're...eating with me," Tigress asked confused and for some unknown reason nervous.

"Oh no, I already ate," Po replied with smile. Tigress's face fell and her hand covered her head. "What?"

"Never mind," Tigress said, "Thank you for breakfast." She sat down on the mat in her room and started eating. "So-"

"I'll be off for today. Dad, wants me to enjoy my month off. I'll be working now on the weekends," Po interrupted. Tigress blinked as she looked at him. "Weeellll, you ask the question every time," Po stated as if commonsense. "Anyways, I was thinking that I could teach you how to cook." Tigress's face contracted in offense when she heard that.

"What's wrong with my cooking?" Tigress asked. Normally, Po would have nervously cowered, but this was a different subject.

"Tigress, really? Have you tasted your food? You remember the last time you cooked for us? It nearly killed us!" Po reminded her. Now Tigress was on the defense.

"So you're not suppose to put so much nutmeg in rice," Tigress said trying to sound innocent.

"And the metal taste?"

"I accidentally left the stirring spoon in there." Po shook his head.

"That's why we need you to learn how to cook better. We don't want to die again. My stomach is still hurting from the nutmeg," Po complained as Tigress finished eating her food. They descended down the stairs as a question came to Tigress.

"Where are we going to cook if your dad has the kitchen?" Tigress asked.

"Don't worry, I have a place where we can be alone," Po replied not realizing what he said. Tigress stopped in her tracks while Po tried to backtrack. "That's not...I mean, not...I-I-I...*sigh* not in that way," Po recovered, though it was a messy recovery. Tigress only followed him the rest of the way in silence. Po and Tigress walked through a bamboo forest and finally reached Po's spot. It was a small abandoned house that was still in good condition. Tigress was amazed that Po had this house.

"Where did you get this?" Tigress asked.

"Well, remember when we went on a mission that turned out to be a trap for Zan to be alone and that's how we first met Li-dong? Well, this is that house the bandits used for the trap," Po explained, "I come here to think, cook, relax, and other things." Po dropped the bag of food that he had carried to the house at the door way. "It has a stove, oven, pots, pans, firewood, and other stuff we need for cooking."

"Where did you get all of this stuff?"

"Some of it comes from the stuff the bandits stole. The owners don't want it so they give it to me. Others I get from my dad. A few of this stuff actually came from the Jade Palace," Po explained. Tigress looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm kidding, I don't steal from the palace."

"So what are we going to cook?" Tigress questioned her master. She shivered to even think about calling him that.

"WE are not cooking anything. YOU are going to cook your own food, then taste it, then compare it with the later food. I'm going to teach you how to use the one feeling you probably have left, your taste," Po instructed. Tigress was surprised. Po could be quite the master when it came to food.

Soon Tigress prepared her food, and it was awful! It tasted like garlic and chocolate chip cookies mixed together, with a blend of a copper spoon. She spat up what she made, but Po was strict on her. "No, no. You have to eat all of it," Po instructed. So she did, but only through sheer willpower. "Now you know what _bad_ food tastes like. Now we're going to learn how to make _edible_ food," Po joked.

Po was an interesting teacher. He had Tigress watching a pot boil, boring, do stirring exercises, boring, and made her learn the uses of different foods, still boring. Tigress was wondering why Po was making her do all this. By the end of the day, Po had her cook something again. "Now, use what you've learned to make what you first made." The first time, Tigress had made her version of dumplings. If you can call it that. So, she did make it and ate it. Tigress focused on the taste.

"What's wrong?" Po asked.

"Needs more bamboo," Tigress said. Po was confused.

"You used bamboo?" Tigress nodded. "Interesting." Po didn't condemn her for making something completely unusual. She finally finished and let Po taste it. Po's eyes lit up. "Very good," Po congratulated. Tigress blushed a bit. She wasn't use to getting something right on the first try, or second, or any try for that matter.

"Thank you," She replied.

"No, I mean very good," Po repeated, "You were able to know what and how to change the taste and texture of your food. You are learning to be self-critical and that is the most important thing any chef can learn." Tigress smiled a bit.

"All in all a pretty dull day for you, huh?" Tigress guessed.

"Oh of course not. Tigress, just hanging out with you is good enough for me. Besides, it's better than you punching me in the stomach just because I asked a question," Po said remembering yesterday.

"I said I was sorry," Tigress said with her face showing annoyance.

"'Sorry' don't heal no internal bleeding," Po replied. Tigress just shook her head. "Come on, let's sit down and eat." So they did, but nervously. Tigress didn't know for sure, but she knew enough of the outside world to know the fundamentals of a...date. Which is what she was wondering about as she ate her food. Po and her sitting at a table alone with no one else bothering them. For Po, it was the fact that he was eating with Tigress. He had done so before but not alone in this setting. For both of them it was weird, but strangely pleasant. After all the nerves and food were gone, they decided to head back to the shop. It was late.

"Wow, time sure goes by fast," Po commented.

"Yes," Tigress replied as they got to the house. Interesting that neither of them could remember the trip. They just remembered them talking to each other. "Po...thank you for teaching me."

"You're welcome, and as a bonus, you could learn from my dad," Po said. Tigress's eyes and frown widened. "I said 'could'. I wouldn't put you through that."

"Thank you anyways," she said as she went to her room, leaving Po down stairs. The panda turned around to see his father leaning on an empty pot with a ladle in his hand and a smile on his face.

"So what were you teaching her?" He asked with the smug smile on.

"I just taught her how to cook, that's all," Po said trying to end the conversation.

"Hmm, interesting. And you guys ate together?" Mr. Ping asked. Po nodded. "Interesting, and you were alone with each other?" Po _hesitantly_ nodded. "Interesting. And-"

"Dad, what's so interesting about it?" Po interrupted, annoyed.

"I'm just saying. A boy and a girl alone having dinner. Isn't that...a date?" Mr. Ping asked. Po's eyes grew and his cheeks burned. The temperature of the room seemed to be increasing dramatically.

"What! No no. She and I are just partners. That's all. And it wasn't a date," Po reiterated.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I...I don't know," Po confusingly said. He trailed off wondering if his father, who had left the panda alone with his thoughts, was right.

Tigress was having the same issue, and it didn't help that she heard everything Po and his father said. Was it a date? She couldn't tell. There wasn't any romantic music, expensive dinning, no suits or dress. It was just the two of them eating. It, in the words of Mr. Ping, was interesting. But that wasn't the part that upset Tigress. "We're just partners." In her head, she agreed. Even in her heart she agreed. But there was something that she was feeling that just her depressed about it. Maybe she was just missing her friends. She couldn't tell. She could only go to her bed and sleep for tomorrow.

 **to be continued.**


	6. Day 6

Day 6: Friday

* * *

Po knocked on Tigress's door this time. He didn't want to be kicked in the face for it. Yesterday, he got lucky. "Come in," Tigress said from the inside. Po opened the door to see Tigress sitting on her bed.

"Good morning," Po said cheerfully.

"Morning," Tigress said very blankly. Po didn't expect anything different. Tigress wasn't much on the "Emotional" or "Expressive" side.

"Today, I have no plans. So, we'll just do whatever you want to do," Po explained. Tigress was surprised. No one ever asked her that. Now she couldn't think of what she wanted to do. Then she smiled. It was a little unnerving for Po, but very pleasing nonetheless.

"Actually, I wanted to three things," Tigress said still smiling. Po was floored. He would have been shocked if she wanted to do just one thing. Three was unbelievable. "I'll do each of them for the next three days. One is that I want YOU to meet a guy I'm seeing," Tigress explained. Po's face fell for a moment before he could bring it back up. A guy? Seeing a guy? They were just friends, but she could have told him still. Now there was a little pinch in Po's heart that steadily grew into a small little hole. Why? They were just friends, right? Maybe her living here wasn't the best idea. Tigress continued nonetheless. "The second one is I want you to come with me to the Jade Palace. I've always wanted to see something there."

"You've been there practically your whole life and there are parts of it that you haven't seen?" Po asked.

"No, I haven't. I want both of us to see it," Tigress clarified, "And the third thing is I just want to talk with you." Po's eyes lit up at this one.

"You mean do a speech or something?" Po said confused. Tigress giggled. Po jumped a bit.

"What?" Tigress asked.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just...your laugh is very...different," Po replied. Tigress's smile disappeared.

"You mean horrible," Tigress corrected.

"No no no, I mean I've never heard it before so it scared me for a moment. Your laugh is actually kind of nice," Po said nervously.

"Thank you," Tigress replied nervously smiling.

"So what did you mean by talking?" Po asked steering the subject. Tigress just sat down on the mat and Po did the same.

"I just want to talk to you." Po was still confused.

"About what?"

"Well, I want to talk about you. I don't know that much about you," Tigress said very hesitantly. Po scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I told you, Tigress, I'm the same guy," Po replied.

"You didn't tell us about Huang and Lin. Plus, you silenced a guy using an arrow and bow. That's three parts about your life that I didn't know about," Tigress argued. Po nodded.

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Who are you, basically?" Tigress asked. Po shrugged.

"My name is Xiao Po Tai-Lung Ping. What else is there to know?" Po said very nonchalantly. Tigress's ears perked up.

"Your middle name is 'Tai-Lung'?" Po nodded. "Why would you share a name with the most evil person in the world?"

"My dad thought that it was a good idea to name me after a famous person. This was before he turned evil. After he turned evil, my dad and family just called me Po Ping."

"Wow, I never knew," Tigress marveled, "When you say 'family', you mean your father and you?"

"No, my dad has other family members," Po said rather grimly.

"You don't sound too happy about it," Tigress observed.

"I never told them that I was the Dragon Warrior and I plan to keep it that way. I never had the heart to tell dad this, but his family is meaner to me than...most...of the village when I first came here," Po said hesitantly. Tigress read through this.

"That's not what you were going to say," Tigress said, "What did you want to say?" Po was silent for a moment. He didn't look at Tigress's face. "Po, come on. I won't get mad. I just want to know," She asked almost seeming to plead with him.

"His family is meaner than when I came to the palace," Po said sadly. Tigress's ears fell after that. She looked at the floor ashamed.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Po said trying to make her feel less guilty, "Without your 'rough love' I would have never become who I am." Po's smile gave Tigress a little hope.

"But why are they so mean to you?" Tigress asked.

"Because...they are all very skilled warriors," Po explained. Tigress was shocked.

"You mean that most of your family does Kung Fu or other things?" Tigress said surprised. Who knew that this panda had a background of fighting in him.

"Yep, the reason why they are so mean to me is the fact that they think I'm just the son of a noodle goose," Po relented. Tigress was very confused.

"So why not just tell them that you are a warrior, if not the Dragon Warrior?" Tigress asked. Po sighed.

"Because they're my dad's family. It would be wrong for me to criticize them for something he's not. My grandfather and great grandfather are the only ones that are noodle makers. All the aunts and uncles are fighters. That's why my dad was upset when I told him I wanted to learn Kung Fu. It's like a slap in the face again," Po said sadly.

"You could tell them that he was the Midnight Stranger," Tigress offered jokingly. Po smiled. "But seriously, you can't hide your identity for long. You're going to have to tell them sooner or later." Po knew she was right, but to say that to his family would take a lot of courage. Something he didn't have just yet.

"Okay," Po breathed in, "What else do you want to learn about me?" Tigress thought about it for a moment.

"How old are you?" Tigress asked. Po was surprised about this one. At first, he thought she was kidding, but her face show sincerity.

"30," He answered. Tigress's eyes widened.

"You're older than me?" This surprised Po even more.

"I'm older than you?" Po said very shocked. Tigress's attitude changed drastically.

"How old did you think I was?" Tigress asked with a smirk. Po could read that smirk. It said 'tread carefully'.

"Older than me," He said carefully. Tigress raised an eyebrow.

"How much older?" Po was nervous now. One false word and he would be sliced to death.

"Um...40?" Po said uneasily. Po thought that Tigress would slash him, but she just laughed.

"No, no," She said coming out of her laughing fit, "I'm 28. I guess because I act older than I really am makes me seem older, huh?"

"A lot older," Po commented. Tigress smirked again with an eyebrow raised. "But same goes for me." Tigress smiled back. Was this date? Why that question came into mind again was beyond her, but right now, her answer was "So what?"

"There's another question I want you to answer," Tigress started again, "Are you..." She was sad for a moment. "Are you scared of me?" Po was both shocked and hurt by this.

"Of course not, why should I be?" Po replied, "I mean, honestly at first I was scared but that was just shyness. Why would you think something like that?" Tigress's smile returned. Po was beginning to fall in love with that smile.

"I was just curious," Tigress said, "I know that a lot of people are scared of me because of my...'hardcore-ness' as you would say." Po's eyes narrowed at her.

"That's question I wanted to ask you," Po said making Tigress look from the ground to his eyes. "Ever since we started this conversation, you've been very...opposite of what you usually are. You're open, loose, laughing! I mean, there was a time that I thought you simply couldn't laugh. So my question is-"

"Why now?" Tigress finished. Po nodded. She sighed as she looked away. "I...am...not trusting around other people. They...are very...untrustworthy. That and I do want to know you more and I can...be myself around you."

"I...don't understand," Po said confused.

"What I mean is...you've taught me to be myself, but I can only do that when I'm around you...alone. You're the only friend that I can do that with. So I drop the facade for once in my life. It's not weird, is it?"

"No no, of course not. Just very surprising," Po laughed a bit, "But what about Shifu? He practically raised you." Tigress sighed.

"Even Shifu doesn't have that pleasure," Tigress replied. Po's smile graced into a compassionate smile.

"Well, thank you." Tigress smiled back. Po looked outside the window. It seemed like it was morning one minute and evening the next. "Wow, time flies," Po said getting off the ground. Tigress tried the same, but her legs wobbled when she stood. She fell forward straight into Po's arms. "Easy there, your legs must have fallen asleep," Po said helping her up to her bed. Tigress was heating up the whole way there.

"T-t-tthank you Po," Tigress stuttered. "Well, goodnight, Po."

"Goodnight," Po said as he told the plates down to the kitchen where Mr. Ping was smirking again with a ladle in hand and smile on his face.

"So, how was breakfast twelve hours ago?" He asked. Po couldn't look him in the eye. Hopefully the next day wouldn't be so awkward.

 **to be continued.**


	7. Day 7

Day 7: Saturday

* * *

Po didn't get his wish. In fact, Tigress chose today, of all days, to let Po meet the guy that she wanted to see. Po couldn't help but feel a little hostile towards the guy, and he didn't even see him yet. So when Tigress and Po were going to Tigress's mysterious guy, Po was constantly trying to figuring out why Tigress was so interested in Po meeting this guy. For all he knew, Tigress was seeing a guy that no one, not even Shifu, knew about. Tigress and Po were traveling down an old unused pathway. It went through the forest and tall grasses. "Why is this guy living in the deep dark woods?" Po asked.

"He doesn't like be in crowded spaces. Come on, we're nearly there," Tigress said trying to contain her excitement. Po could feel it even though she was concealing it under her emotionless face. Po just couldn't bear it. Why was she so excited about this guy?

"Why do I care?" Po asked himself. Was he jealous? Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, Po was starting to get attached to this female cat. They finally got to house in the middle of the woods. It was a well kept house, pretty small compared to Mr. Ping's shop. It was a pale white color with brown shutter windows on the second floor. Tigress knocked on the door.

"Ru, it's me, Tigress. There's person I want you to me," Tigress called. As the door opened, Po was, again, shocked at what he saw.

"Well hello my darling, what a pleasant surprise," The struggle in his voice was apparent. His sight seemed to be challenged. His back hunched over more than other people his species. It was an old jet black wolf leaning on a cane that opened the door. This was the man that Tigress wanted Po to see? "Ohh and this must be your boyfriend," He said making the two embarrassed.

"We're not a couple, Ru. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Tigress exclaimed. Times? That means that there was a discussion about him that came up more than once, Po observed. Ru extended his hand towards the big bear. Po gingerly shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Po. Tigress has told me a lot about you," the old wolf said.

"All good I hope," Po joked as they walked inside. Ru walked over to his bed and sat down on it.

"So, what brings you to the bowels of the old and dying?" Ru dramatically asked. That was the same question that Po was asking himself. Fortunately, Tigress answered it for them.

"We just want to see you. It's been a while since I've seen my favorite poet," Tigress said.

"Wait, poet? You're Ru the Reborn poet?" Po asked in increasing amazement. Ru slowly nodded.

"The one and only," Ru replied.

"How do you know Ru the Reborn?" Tigress asked surprised that Po knew something about poetry.

"How do YOU?" Po shot back, "Ru's poems are renowned all over China! He's one of the new poets that reaches back into the ancient past of China and redesigns it into a marvelous piece of work. Why wouldn't I know him?" Po could see Ru chuckle as Tigress looked away, probably embarrassed.

"I can answer that," Ru said, "Because, as Tigress has told me, you only find Kung fu and food interesting." Tigress flinched, expecting Po to react or have a hurt face on. But when she turn to him, he was laughing as well. "But how do you know me?"

"Your piece _The Unsung Warrior_ gave me the courage to fight back the insults I got. That's how I know. Now how does Tigress know you personally?"

"Well," Tigress started, "When I was training, about ten years ago, I was wondering the woods until I got lost. Then I saw a small house in the opening. When I knocked on the door, it opened to a middle aged wolf with a kind smile. At first I thought it was the wolf bandits, but he took me in, gave me some food and tea to drink, and showed me the way home. That wolf was Ru. I'll be honest, Po, I didn't think that you knew Ru, or anything about poetry. Another thing that I don't know about you," Tigress smirked. Po laughed sheepishly grinning. Ru smiled.

"Ah, friends. The thing that we all crave and that bonds us together stronger than any treaty or maple sap.

"Friendship. Friendship is that bond. For what is acquaintance? What is familiarity? That knack that were in Confucius's heart?

"It was bonds that joined the parts. The hand, the arms, the lips, and face can never testify what cannot be grasped. It is held but not to hold. Strong but holds no weight. Friends, no, more than friends can only make this string.

"Not string, but rope that attaches mountain to mountain. Something that is felt without feeling. Love is what it is," Ru came down from his "poetic high". Tigress and Po looked at each other in both confusion and embarrassment. "Friends, no, more than friends can only make this string." That's the phrase they remembered.

"Well, It was good to see you, Ru," Tigress said dismissing the incident, "I hope that you enjoyed meeting Po."

"I know that I enjoyed it very much," Po said extending his hand with a smile. Ru and Po shook hands and the two warriors started home. "Well, that was interesting."

"I know," Tigress said with a hint of a smile, but she could tell that Po was nervous about something by the way he was looking at the ground. "Po, what's wrong?" Po remained silent for a moment.

"Can I tell you something and you not laugh. I mean, it is pretty funny but just don't laugh as hard as-"

"What is it, Po?" Tigress interrupted.

"I...I was a little...upset that you were seeing a guy, but...I didn't know that you meant like that."

"You mean...you thought that I was dating him?" Tigress asked weirded out.

"I know it sounds silly, but the way you phrased everything made me think that you were going out with him. It wasn't till I finally saw him that I knew it wasn't what I thought it was. I'm sorry," Po said apologetically. Tigress patted him on the shoulder.

"It's alright. You didn't know. But what I don't know is why it bothered you so," Tigress said smirking. That smirk told Po that she had an idea why. She just wanted him to tell her. But he wouldn't.

"I don't know. Craziness I guess," Po said a little shy. Just then some bandits came out; pig ones. "Alright, this month just gets more and more interesting." Tigress shook her head as she and him leapt into action. Po jumped up and planted his foot on one of the bandits. He turned around and elbowed him in the gut, punched him up in the air, and let the bandit land on his leg.

Tigress slashed left and right with the bandits. Quickly, she swept the ground with her tail making the bandits fall. She jumped on one of them and punched him into the ground, hard. The print of his face was left in the dirt. Within minutes, the bandits were running. "Yeah, you run," Po shouted after them. Tigress rolled her eyes as she smirked.

"Come on, let's go home," Tigress said.

 **to be continued.**

 **Reasons I updated:**

 **1: to settle unrest**

 **2: I wouldn't be able to update the day after next.**


	8. Day 8

Day 8: Sunday

* * *

It had rained earlier today, but the hot humid sun made quick work of any evidence of the moisture. It was humid though, and some puddles still remained. That's what the day started out when Po and Tigress ascended the stairs of the Jade Palace. It was nowhere near the time for them to come back to the Jade Palace, but like Tigress said, she wanted Po to see a room. "What's so special about the room?" Po asked. Tigress grinned just a little.

"Just wait," she replied. They finally got to the gates of the Jade Palace where Zeng opened the door.

"Oh Master Tigress," He said in his usual nervous voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Zeng, I would like to see that 'secret room' that you told me about," Tigress asked confidentially. Zeng's eyebrow rose in confusion, but then he remembered what she was talking about.

"OOhh that room!" He remembered, "Okay, do you want to bring Po with you?" Po nodded eagerly. Tigress rolled her eyes but agreed. "Okay then. Right this way." He led them past the Training Hall and past the entrance of the Hall of Heroes.

"Hey, where are all the masters?" Po asked Zeng.

"They went down to the Huang-Wu Region for an emergency," Zeng replied. Soon they went down a winding stairway that went down in a stony hole. Zeng grabbed a torch. Pretty soon, they came to an old wooden door with a lock. Zeng opened the door and a bright light from inside came forth nearly blinding them. They entered to see what looked like a library of old books and scrolls. Needless to say, Po was a little disappointed.

"Wow," Tigress said in a hushed tone, "I didn't think that it really existed."

"What? A library underneath the Jade Palace is unusual?" Po asked failing to see the big ordeal. Tigress shook her head.

"Do you realize what this is?" Tigress asked, while Po shook his head, "This is the library of everyone who has ever been in the Valley of Peace. Rumor has it that Oogway made a group of secret elites to write down the lives of all the people that ever set foot in the Valley of Peace. This is that library!" Po's eyes grew wide.

"You mean everyone's lives are in these book?" Po asked picking up a book and seeing if there was a spirit. He cough up a bunch of dust. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Not like that. These are documents and records of everyone's life in and out of the Valley." Po put the book by and chose another one. It just happened to be his dad's.

"Hey, here's my father's!" He exclaimed, "Whoa, I didn't know that he use to be in a gang. The Jun gang none the less."

"You mean that gang that known for their knife-throwing skills? YOUR dad was apart of that?" Tigress asked not really believing it.

"Hey, don't sound too surprise. I know everything about my dad's present life, not past life. I've never even seen my grandfather," Po replied, "So wait. This place has a record of everyone who has stepped inside of the village so," Then it dawned on him, "You want to know where you came from." Tigress nodded.

"For the longest I wanted to see this place. I wanted to find out if I was just thrown aside for nothing. Now, now I'll be able to see for myself. Quickly, find my book," Tigress commanded. They searched and searched and figured out the books were organized in a certain way. Using that system, they found Tigress's book. "Here it is," Tigress said.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Po asked uncertain. Tigress took a breath and opened the book.

 _"Tigress Lily Xiang-Hu. Daughter of Xiang-Hu and Su-Lin, both_ _fearsome warriors that protected the far away village from the Qi-don. They also protected the former panda village before they left to their hometown, to give birth to a daughter, Tigress. However, recent civil war prevented them from caring for the baby and a midnight near miss with death made their fears more prevalent. They couldn't protect the baby so they gave her to the Bao-goo Orphanage to protect her from the enemies. Though the civil war in their hometown ceased, Su-Lin and Xiang-Hu both died giving their lives to their baby and their village."_

Tigress slowly closed the book. Po laid his hand on her shoulder as she stared into empty space. "Are you okay?" Po asked. Tigress nodded.

"I'm better than okay. I've...I've always thought that my parents put me in the orphanage to get rid of me, because they knew what kind of person was going to become. Now, I know that they put me there to protect me from danger," Tigress smiled.

"Thank you," Po said to Tigress. Tigress turned to Po with a weird look.

"For what?"

"It said that your parents protected the panda village. I thank you for that," Po replied. Then Tigress remembered.

"What about your book?" Tigress asked. Po waved it off.

"Thanks to your parents, I know that my people are still around. I'm not the only panda in the world," Po replied with smile. "Come on, let's get out of here, my nose is collecting more dust than the books." Tigress smiled and they started to go when Tigress spotted Po's book.

"He would want to know," She reasoned to herself, "So I'll take this one." She took the book and hid it underneath her vest. Zeng closed up the library as they went out. They ascended up the stairs, out the palace, and down the mountain stairs.

"So, all of the three things that you wanted to do are completed. Now what?" Tigress wondered about that.

"I don't know," Tigress replied unsure, "Why don't we just do something you want to do tomorrow?"

"Okay," Po said shrugging. As they got back to the shop, Tigress stretched tiredly.

"Well, I'll go to bed early. It's been an interesting day," Tigress said.

"Yep, an ancient library, fighting off bandits in the shop, and a dangerous game of Mahjong with Huang will wear you out," Po smiled, "Good night."

"Good night," Tigress replied as she went up the stairs to her room. She took the book out of her vest and stashed it underneath her bed. "I'll wait until he wants to." Tigress smiled to herself. Her cheeks felt a little sore. She had to admit that this was the most she had smiled in a while. Po was able to bring that out of people. She blushed. Things had gotten very interesting between the two and personally, Tigress liked. But tomorrow would be very weird because some of the Furious five would be coming back. Though she was excited to have the others back, she would miss these 'private times' with Po.

 **To be continued.**


	9. Day 9

Day 9: Monday

* * *

First, Monkey and Crane came back. It would be another week before Viper and Mantis came back. Tigress woke up to some unusual shouting coming from downstairs. Tigress prepared herself and went down stairs to see her friends. Po looked over to see Tigress. "Hey, Tigress, look who's back," He said. Sure enough, sitting there at the table with Po was Monkey and Crane. Crane stood up and bowed with Tigress, knowing that she didn't like handshakes or hugs. Tigress stuck to her rigid form and bowed as well. Monkey seemed off a bit. He didn't even notice that Tigress was there. "Monkey," Po called.

"Oh, hey Tigress," He replied sadly. Tigress whispered over to Crane.

"What's up with him?" She asked.

"I don't know. He's been like that ever since we met and came here," Crane whispered back.

"What's up Monkey?" Po asked out loud, "Did something happen at your brother's?"

"No, nothing like that," Monkey replied with a sigh. He turned his body to face them while still in the chair. "It's just this problem I've been trying to do."

"What sort of problem?" Tigress questioned.

"Getting in a woman's bed," Monkey said casually. The other three's eyes popped out open. Monkey laughed at their reaction. "Not like that. I mean literally getting in a woman's bed without her knowing."

"Oh what fresh haiku is this?" Po muttered.

"Okay, I made a bet with this guy that I could get a piece of this woman's bed. Well, the lady hates me," Monkey explained.

"Why?" Crane asked raising an eyebrow. Monkey tried to look innocent.

"I may have played a prank on her," Monkey said slowly. The others groaned. "How was I suppose to know she was allergic to soup. I mean, who is?"

"Her!" Crane, Tigress, and Po replied. Monkey waved them off.

"Anyways, people say that her bed is made out of feathers," Monkey said, making Crane honk out of fear. "I need proof."

"And how do you think to acquire this evidence," Tigress questioned. Monkey's said expression returned.

"I don't know, that's why I'm sulking," Monkey said.

"Who is she anyways?" Po asked.

"Her name's Jin," Monkey answered.

"Really, I'm suppose to bring a wardrobe over to her," Po remembered.

"Where is it suppose to go?" Crane asked.

"In her bedroom," Po replied. Then Monkey's face lit up.

"That's it! Po, my good friend, I'm going to help you with that wardrobe and get something for me as well," Monkey exclaimed leaving the others clueless.

A little later, Monkey plan had finally come into view. And it was an interesting plan to say the least. "This...is...stupid," Tigress sighed pinching her nose.

"Not that stupid. Monkey hides in her wardrobe until we get it into her room and then he sneaks out when the coast is clear," Po explained. Tigress looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, it is stupid when you hear it out loud."

"Just get me over to the house already," Monkey called impatiently. He was already inside the wardrobe and they had secured the doors so he couldn't stumble out. Crane, Tigress, and Po lifted the wardrobe and started carrying it to the house. The way they were carrying it was Crane at the head of the wardrobe and Tigress and Po at the bottom. Crane was lifting it facing forward so he could see.

"So how do you know Mrs. Jin, Po?" Crane said asking the same question Tigress was about to ask.

"Oh she's the sister of one of my friends, Lin," Po explained.

"Oh! And who's Lin?" Monkey asked from the wardrobe. It wasn't thick so they could still _hear_ the smirk in his voice. Po bounced the wardrobe on his shoulder. "OW!"

"That's what you get for asking too many questions," Po mischievously said.

"So Po who is Lin?" Crane asked non-smuggly.

"She's a friend of mine that use to help me with the shop. She's married now," Po said in a happier tone than Tigress expected. Tigress looked back with a questioning looking. Po shrugged with a smile. "I'm over it," Po whispered. Tigress nodded.

"Over what?" Monkey asked. Tigress and Po had forgot that Monkey was in there. Of course, Tigress was getting annoyed with Monkey so she "accidentally" dropped her side of the wardrobe. "OWWW! Stop that!"

"Oops," Tigress smirked, "Slippery hands." Crane and Po snickered.

"Monkey, we're just going to rest for a bit. This thing is heavy with you inside it," Po called out. He then motioned the others to come with them. So leaving Monkey in the middle of the road, Crane, Tigress, and Po went to a nearby tea shop.

"Hey, hey guys! Are you there?" Monkey spend a good thirty minutes trying to call them, grabbing the attention of people passing by. Of course, these people were confused and laughing.

Finally, Crane, Tigress, and Po came back to find a crowd around the wardrobe. They casually picked it up and went on their way. "What? You've never seen a talking wardrobe?" Po challenged trying to contain a laugh. Soon, they came to Jin's house.

"So how are you and Jin?" Tigress asked as she knocked on the door.

"Just casual friends, I guess. We were never really close like Lin and me," Po replied shrugging. The house was on a little elevation with steps, so they stood the wardrobe up right. Soon, the door opened to a medium-sized fox like Lin. She smiled at Po.

"Oh hey Po! How are you?" Jin greeted.

"Hey Jin. I'm good. Jin, these are my friends Crane and Tigress," Po introduced. Jin looked around them.

"And no one else? I thought there were more members of the Furious Five," Jin said.

"Oh there are," Crane spoke up, "But two are out on vacation." Jin's look changed to suspicion.

"And what about Master Monkey?" Jin asked. Po and Crane looked at each other nervously.

"He's...still on vacation. We haven't heard from him yet," Po fibbed. Tigress rolled her eyes. Po was a good person with a good heart, making him a terrible liar. But Jin seemed to buy it. Or so Tigress thought. Jin smiled rather mischievously.

"So," she spoke rather loud, "You brought my wardrobe." They all nodded. "Well I-" She 'accidentally' leaned on it and sent it tumbling down the stairs. Crane, Po, and Tigress tried to catch it but it was too late.

"OWW!" The wardrobe said.

"What was that?" Jin asked with a smile on her face.

"ME," Tigress, Crane, and Po all said at once. Jin's smile grew wider.

"I'm so sorry about that. Maybe I should check inside to see if everything is alright," Jin said going for the wardrobe, but Po stopped.

"I'm sure everything's fine," Po said nervously. Jin rolled her eyes.

"It's fine, Po. I know what's in the wardrobe," Jin said opening the doors. "Hello Monkey." Monkey smiled nervously.

"Hey Jin." He replied trembling.

"I'm surprised you would be in this Po," Jin commented. Po shrugged.

"I do stupid stuff," Po replied. Jin turned back to the monkey crawling out of the wardrobe.

"Trying to get in my bed again, eh?"

"Can we stop saying that?" Crane asked. "It just sounds wrong."

"Look, I'm sorry about what I did. I just wanted to see if the rumor was true," Monkey confessed. Jin came closer to him.

"What rumor?" Jin asked in a steamy voice. Monkey gulped.

"If...if your bed was made out of feathers," Monkey answered. Jin took him by the hand.

"Well, if you wanted to see it, you just had to ask," Jin replied with smile. Nobody trusted the smile. "Come on, I'll show you and make you some tea." she drugged him towards the house.

"Okay," Monkey replied confused.

"What about the wardrobe?" Po asked.

"Oh you can just put that in the back. I just used that to get him here," Jin said as she closed the door behind her. Tigress, Crane, and Po were all confused.

"What just happened?" Crane asked.

"I...don't...know," Tigress said slowly. "Should we go in after them?"

"No, no," Po answered still a little dizzy, "I think they're okay. Come on, let's get back to the shop."

 **to be continued.**


	10. Day 10

Day 10: Tuesday

* * *

"You came back late last night," Crane commented the next morning. He was talking to Monkey with Tigress. Po was in the kitchen. Monkey shifted nervously as fiddled with his hands.

"Well, we did just what she said we did. We went in her bedroom, took a feather," Monkey stopped midway to show them the feather, "and had some tea."

"That doesn't explain why you're so jumpy," Tigress observed, "What did you two do after that?"

"Well...after tea she asked if I wanted to join her to a fancy restaurant that came into town. I said yes and we had a good time. She and I actually go way back and she's a better 'pranker' than I am," Monkey replied.

"What do you mean?" Crane asked.

"Well, it turned out that she wasn't allergic to the soap I threw at her. She was just playing because she heard about it. I still don't know how," Monkey pondered.

"Um...that would be my fault, Monkey," Po spoke from the kitchen, "I over heard what you were going to do when you were with Crane. I told Lin and Lin told Jin."

"Po, we didn't even know you at that time. Why would you-"

"You were about to prank my sister's sister. What do you think I was going to do?" Po interrupted. Monkey scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Oh, yeah sorry...But why did she act like that?" Monkey asked. Po thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know really. Jin's always had a playful spirit. Maybe she was just trying to get back at you for the other prank that you pulled on her," Po smirked at Monkey.

"Okay, the orange juice prank was because of what she did to me," Monkey said defensively.

"Was this before or after the magician prank?" Po said slyly smiling. Got him! Monkey sunk back into his chair.

"Oh, forgot about that one," Monkey muttered.

"So, how long had you and Jin known each other?" Crane asked.

"A couple of years. She used to be my prank partner. We had a lot of fun together. I'll admit that I used the wardrobe thing to try and meet her again," Monkey said lowly.

"You mean that stuff about a bet was all fake?" Crane marveled. Monkey nodded. "So wait. That whole story about the bed being made out of feathers was just a lucky guess or you knowing?"

"I knew," Monkey sighed, "I just wanted to see if the rumor was true."

"Which wasn't about the bed but about-" Tigress trailed off. Monkey sighed.

"If she hated me or not," Monkey replied. It was silent for five seconds. "She and I were very good friends and I hadn't seen her since the soup incident. I heard from some old women that she still hated me. That just hurt me. So I had to figure out if she did or didn't. I'm sorry for dragging you guys into this."

"Meh, it's Po that usually does it the worst," Tigress shrugged as Po glared at her.

"Thank you," He muttered.

"Here's something I don't get," Monkey said, directing the conversation to Po, "How is it that you knew about Jin and me and I never saw you?"

"Were you looking for a black and white kung-fu fan crazed noodle boy?" Po asked. Monkey shook his head, "Then ya missed me. When Lin and Jin moved from your valley to the Valley of Peace, Jin use to talk a lot about you. That's how I figured out the story about Oogway choosing you." Monkey's eyes lit up and he cowered a bit.

"You mean...with the pants situation?" Monkey spoke carefully choosing his words. Po smirked.

"And so, when I had to get something from the back, I over heard you and Crane planning a prank. I thought that Jin would be heartbroken to learn that the person she talked so much about was about to prank her," Po said. Monkey just kept feeling bad about himself, "But when I told Lin and she told Jin, Lin said Jin smiled. She seemed okay with it."

"Yeah she was," Monkey breathed a sigh of relief, "She told me she came up with the allergic story as a counter prank. But she didn't think that I would be so ashamed about it. She was just playing. I thought I hurt her really badly, so I never talked to her again. But when we came back I had to know if the rumor was true."

"But it isn't," Tigress spoke, "She was just playing, you two are friends again, happy ending."

"Yep," Monkey said relaxed, "It's funny actually. Po knew about that story. It makes me wonder if he knows any other stories."

"Oh, I know all the stories with you guys. Crane at the Lee-Dong academy with Mei-Ling, Viper when she didn't have any fangs, Mantis when he was, well he still is, impatient in his village, and Tigress at the orphanage." Tigress, Crane, and Monkey were all surprised at Po and each other. "Wait, you guys never knew about how you guys got to the Jade Palace?"

"No," Tigress said, "Before you came, we acted as if we were just comrades and nothing more. For us, it was just training. We didn't socialize much with each other."

"But then you came and changed all that. You made us actually notice each other," Crane explained.

"But you guys had to work together. How could you guys work together so well and not know each other's story?" Po asked.

"Well, because working together as a team is different from as a family. But you taught us how to work better together. We started to realize the people around us. Like the fact that Tigress's a woman," Monkey smiled slyly. Tigress nearly jumped the table when she heard that part. Po and Crane moved quickly to prevent her from clawing Monkey. As Tigress settled down, she said.

"And you made us realize the flaws of our team," Tigress smirked looking straight at Monkey. Monkey wore an annoyed look, but Crane, who was next to Monkey and Tigress and across from Po said.

"So how do you know all of our stories?" Po shrugged as if it were nothing.

"I've been to where all of you were. I had to do a cooking errand when my dad was sick to go to both Mantis's and Viper's village. My dad and I traveled to the Lee-Dong academy to serve some noodles and we got the story there. And I got to volunteer for a soup kitchen in the Boa-Goo Orphanage. I've been everywhere you guys have been. I know it sounds creepy but I just float around you guys like that," Po explained.

"Wow, you've been with us all this time and we never even noticed you," Tigress said a bit sad. Po gave a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it. You wouldn't have even if you already knew me. It was all after you went to the Jade Palace," Po explained. "Well, I have to get the noodles ready. Hey, where are you two staying?"

"We're just staying with some friends we have in the valley," Crane replied as he and Monkey got up. "We'll be working with them for the stay though, but it's not hard work." As the two left the shop, Po went back to the kitchen and started again with the noodles.

"So, Tigress, what are you going to do today?" Po asked. Tigress thought about it for a moment.

"I think I'll just go over to Huang for a visit," Tigress replied not really interested. She had grown bored in the valley and the new things were becoming dim. So, she went on her way to Huang's house, and as she approached the house, she saw Zeng outside the house. "Zeng? What are you doing here?"

"Master Shifu is inside talking to this old person," Zeng answered confusing Tigress even further. Tigress went inside to see Master Shifu and Huang playing Chinese checkers. Shifu turned around to see Tigress and was surprised.

"Tigress? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Tigress replied.

"Well," Huang said sitting up from the bed for he had been laying on his side to play, "I can answer that. You see, Master Shifu here is an old friend of mine too." Tigress's eyebrow rose.

"How old are you, Huang?" She asked with a hint of laughter in her tone, but she hid it well.

"Older than you think, my daughter," Huang replied, "Anyways, Master Shifu, Po usually comes here to visit me and feed me. He, his father, and I are good friends. One day, he brought Tigress along and that's how we met." Master Shifu's eyes widened.

"Wait, where are you staying?" Shifu asked with mistaken sternness in his voice. Tigress was silent for a moment. Would he disapprove of her staying with Po?

"I'm...staying with Po," She said cautiously. That seemed to calm Shifu a lot, though she didn't know why he wore a smug look on his face. Not until she understood the context she just explained. "We're staying in separate rooms," She clarified. Shifu's smile only got bigger. "Anyways," Tigress said trying to change the subject, "Why are you here?"

"Well, the warriors at the Jade Palace are using the Training Hall and they don't need me, so I thought I would come down here to visit an old friend of mine," Shifu said gesturing to Huang. "Want to join us?" Shifu offered. Tigress was thrown off by that. Shifu hasn't offered to play checkers since she was little and those moments were rare. She nodded and sat down. For the rest of the evening, the three played Chinese checkers.

 **to be continued.**


	11. Day 11

Day 11: Wednesday

* * *

Tigress woke up the next morning feeling something she hadn't felt in a long time. Mischievous. She wore a smile as she got up from her bed and looked for the panda. Po was in the empty shop cleaning off tables. "Oh hey Tigress! I'm just wiping up the tables here. Afterwards we can get Crane and Monkey and go somewhere fun," Po offered.

"That's nice, Po, but I wanted to see something first," Tigress said still having her mischievous smile. She started to scratch Po on a little spot on the back of his neck. Po's eyes widened and then settled at half-lidded. His tongue hung out as Tigress scratched harder.

"Right there! Ah! Ah! Oh yeah!" Po said in complete pleasure. It wasn't until Po heard Tigress giggle that he pulled away. "Wait! How did you know about my secret scratch spot?!"

"Huang told me about it. I didn't know if it were true, but now I know it is," Tigress smirked. Po frowned out of embarrassment and looked to the corner to hide his face. "Don't feel bad. I just felt like seeing you in that position."

"Why?" Tigress shrugged.

"My curiosity?" Tigress smirked. Po rolled his eyes.

"Your curiosity is something that I have to look out for now," he said, "Why did Huang teach you that?"

"Well, I wanted know what he knew about you and that's one of the things. Oh, did you know that Shifu and Huang know each other. I saw them playing checkers and I joined them," Tigress explained.

"Wow, you learn something new everyday," Po commented. Tigress went to one of the tables and started helping him. "So what's on the plans today?"

"Today? I don't know really. I was hoping you would have something in mind. You don't have any work today," Tigress shrugged. Po thought about it.

"We could meet some of the masters at the Jade Palace," Tigress raised her eyebrow, "Come on, I'm sure that Shifu wouldn't ban us from just meeting them. Aren't you curious as to who is sleeping in your spot?" Po asked. Tigress rolled her eyes at the childish panda. Though, she was curious as to who was in the Jade Palace. Shifu hadn't been exactly clear about it.

"I guess it would be okay for us. Master Shifu wouldn't really disapprove of it," Tigress said thoughtfully. Po's eyes lit up.

"Then it's settled then. After I'm done with the tables we'll go up to the palace and meet to warriors," Po said cheerfully.

Po soon regretted his decision. He had forgotten the many steps of the Jade Palace, and for some reason, Tigress was a little tired out too. It must have been from all the non activity she was doing. "I'm going to have to work on that," She thought to herself. At last, they made it to the open gate of the Jade Palace. While they were passing the courtyard, Master Shifu spotted them.

"Dragon Warrior and Master Tigress? What are you doing here?" He asked.

"We were just wondering if we could see some of the masters occupying the Jade Palace," Po explained. Shifu narrowed his eyes at Po. "I promise not to geek out."

"Very well," Shifu said unsure, "They're practicing in the Training Hall. I'm sure they would like to meet you." They followed Shifu down to the hall. When he opened the doors, the two could see five warriors fighting and sparring with each other and others flying about the rink. There was a big gorilla nearby the sand pit where the warriors would spar. When he saw Master Shifu, he yelled.

"Everyone, break time!" Like that, the five warriors came out of the training faculty and stood before Tigress, Shifu, and Po.

"Po, Tigress," Shifu began, "I would like you to meet Master Gorilla of Northern China." The big gorilla wore two black straps on his chest and brown pants. He was taller and bigger than Tigress and Po put together, but he had the kindest smile out of all of them. And he was very friendly. He bowed as he introduced himself.

"It is an honor to meet the warriors of the Jade Palace and the Dragon Warrior," Gorilla said.

"Please, just me Po," the panda replied modest and humble.

"You already know Master Croc and Master Ox," Shifu reminded as he gestured to the bowing crocodile and ox.

"It is great to meet you again, Po and Master Tigress," Croc said. Po bowed. He wasn't aware of where Tigress was.

"This is Master Lu of Southwest China," Shifu said as he pointed to a female crane. Her eyes were sparkling blue and had a slightly pink button-up dress. She had a single feather stick out from her head like Crane's mother and actually looked as tall as Crane. Po smiled inside. He had to get Crane up here. But on the outside he said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Lu," Po bowed.

"And an honor to meet you Dragon Warrior," Lu replied. Po smiled again. Her voice was smooth like butter and a little higher than Viper's. It almost sounded like a certain mermaid under the sea. **(HINT HINT)** By the time Shifu and Po got to the last warrior, they could see that Tigress was already examining her.

Tigress felt like she was staring into a mirror. So did the person looking at her. The last warrior was a black female wolf with the almost exact look of Tigress except for the eye color and vest. The vest was completely the same except it was blue, and the wolf's blue eyes were opposite of Tigress's red ones. ( **I'm going off the "series Tigress")** Everything else was the same. Height, size, black pants, even posture. Tigress and the wolf started to mimic each other's action. When Tigress raised an eyebrow, the wolf would too. When her eyes widened, the wolf widened them as well. They walked around each other. Was this a mirror or a person? Tigress was confused. Shifu chuckled, "Hmm, I see you've met Master Krista from the Northeast."

"It is an honor to meet you Master Tigress," Krista bowed. Tigress did the same. They accidentally bumped their heads on each other. The others laughed as the two masters rubbed their heads and glared at everyone else.

"Wow, I never thought that anyone could copy Krista's death stare," Gorilla commented.

"Well, now that you have met everyone, I guess it's only fair that you get to know everyone. I'll be meditating while you do that," Master Shifu said he exited the room. While Po was talking with the others, Tigress and Krista decided to spar with each other. They went to the spar pit and started in a stance. While they fought, they talked.

"So, you're the leader of the Furious Five?" Krista asked as they circled around.

"Unofficially, but I manage," Tigress replied not dropping her stance for a moment.

"Hmm, interesting. I figured that the leader would be a strong one," Krista complimented. Tigress smirked.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Krista smirked back as she lunged forward. Tigress jumped over her and punched her in the back, but Krista dodged it. The wolf tried a roundhouse kick, but Tigress ducked and kicked her standing leg. Krista fell back then flipped back. They circled again.

"You're pretty capable for a young warrior," Tigress observed.

"'Young'?! I'm the same age as you," Krista shot back. This got Tigress off guard. Just what Krista wanted. She jumped up and did a flying kick, but Tigress rolled out from it. Tigress grabbed her hand and flung her to the pole. Krista used the pole to bounce back and land back in the spar pit.

"How do you know how old I am?" Tigress questioned. Krista smirked.

"You think you're the only one that's taken for a man?" Krista replied. Tigress smiled a little. Po and the others looked on from the walkway. Po smiled brightly.

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Po said out loud.

"So is your vacation going?" Gorilla asked.

"It's going very well. Master Crane and Master Monkey just returned two days ago. Master Viper and Master Mantis are suppose to be back next week," Po explained, "And how is your stay here?"

"It's very good," Master Croc spoke, "You guys have a very great Training Hall and rooms. There is one question that I've been wondering about."

"What?" Po asked.

"Why aren't you guys here?" Croc asked. Po's eye widened.

"You mean...you haven't been told?"

"We were told that we would be staying in the Jade Palace to help you guys protect it. They didn't say we would be doing it," Master Lu explained. Po could see they were confused. So was he.

"Master Shifu said we had to be out of the Jade Palace to give room for the masters. But now that you say that, there are a lot more place you guys could sleep. I don't know why Master Shifu said we had to leave the Jade Palace."

"I hope it's not to replace you, because we need to get back to our own places to protect them," Master Ox said quite ominously. Po was worried now, but Shifu wouldn't have gone through all the trouble just to replace them. But then why would he do this? The new Kung Fu law said they had to switch, but why...

Po didn't know, the Furious Five didn't know, even the masters staying here didn't know. "Some of us," Lu added disrupting Po's thoughts. "Some of us have place to get back to. Krista and I are the only ones who have other masters protecting our villages. Gorilla, Croc, and Ox don't."

"So you could stay here," Po replied. Lu seemed unsure.

"Well, I haven't been around the Valley of Peace," Lu said as Krista and Tigress finished their spar, "I wouldn't know if it's a good place to stay."

"Well, tomorrow, if it's good with Shifu, I'd like to take you guys around the village and meet the other warriors," Po smiled. Tigress frowned at Po and her eyes narrowed. She seemed to know exactly what Po was trying to do.

"That will be good," Gorilla agreed, "We don't have any requirements to stay here for a number of hours. We're pretty free to do what we please. If everyone wants to." All the masters nodded.

"Great! Then it's settled. Tomorrow, you get a tour of the Valley of Peace," Po smiled brightly. As Po and Tigress exited and descended down the stairs, Tigress glared over to Po. "What? What did I do?"

"I know exactly why you wanted bring them down here," Tigress said in her emotionless tone, "You want Lu to see Crane."

"Yeah, and everyone else in the village. I don't know why you're upset about that," Po said with a mischievous smile.

"You want Lu and Crane to go out together," Tigress said plainly. Po pretended to be shocked.

"What?! Are you proposing that I am going manipulate the circumstances of them both being birds and her being beautiful AND Crane being single just so that they can be together?" Tigress gave him the most serious stare she could muster.

"Yes," She said bluntly. Po shrugged.

"Okay ya got me," Po smirked, "What's the harm? At the least, they become friends. I don't know why you're so against this."

"I'm not. Have you forgotten how Crane is around pretty girls?" Tigress asked. Po's eyes widened. He remembered the time he had to battle Kwan the Unkillable and how Crane acted with his assistant Bai Li. He had forgotten about that.

"I said at the least they would become friends. But that is something we'll have to work on," Po said more to himself. Tigress rolled her eyes as they went down the stairs.

 **to be continued.**


	12. Day 12

Day 12: Thursday

* * *

Tigress was in a mild mood, but as Po was talking over the table with Crane and Monkey, she was become mildly nervous. She didn't have any reason to. She had met the masters before. But Po's frantic explaining to the others was getting her a little notched up. "Just be yourself, but try to be calm, Crane," Po instructed in earnest. Crane rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Po. Give me some credit. I'm not that nervous around girls," Crane countered.

"Yeah, but when it's pretty girls, we have a problem. All I'm saying is to be the confident bird that you are. Have the same confidence you had with the training place at Lee-dong," Po said trying to help him. Crane, for some reason, wasn't worried. Monkey, Tigress, and especially Po were. They wanted Crane's experience with the masters to be normal, but that would be hard with Lu around. She was pretty, very pretty. Tigress would admit that, but she couldn't figure out why Crane wasn't nervous.

"He probably isn't trying to get all hyped up," She thought to herself. Po sighed. It was now or never. The gang climbed up the stairs with Po impatiently leading the front.

"Come on, come on, you're moving so slow," he hurried.

"Why's he so jumpy?" Monkey asked Tigress.

"He must be excited for the others to see you two. That or he may just want the awkward encounter with Crane and Lu to be over with," Tigress guessed. Po never was this enthusiastic climbing stairs. He didn't even seem tired as he reached the top. There at the top were the five masters waiting for them.

"Crane and Monkey," Po introduced, "I would like you to meet Masters Gorilla, Croc, Ox, Krista, and Lu." Monkey and Crane bowed to all. However, when Lu and Crane's eyes met, the two birds' eyes widened. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes while the others watched on.

"Um...should we...do something?" Croc asked Po.

"No no, let's see where this goes," Po sighed fearing that Crane would freak out.

"Hello," Crane said softly. The others were shocked that Crane spoke first and normally.

"Hhello," Lu replied stuttering a bit.

"They're both nervous?" Tigress asked as they were huddled together.

"Yes, it seems that your Crane and our Lu have some similar confidence issues," Krista whispered. Then the two birds started to speak.

"You're very beautiful, Master Lu, and I don't mean that to impress," Crane said slowly. He was obviously entranced by how beautiful she was.

"Thank you, Master Crane," Lu said with a blushing smile, "And you are very handsome as well."

"Thank you," Crane smiled very nervous. Po clapped his hands very loudly to get them out of their trance.

"Well, now that we've commented about each other's clothing, how about we show the masters around separately? I'll take Master Gorilla, Tigress will take Master Krista, Monkey will take masters Croc and Ox, and Crane will take Master Lu," Po proposed with a smile. "Any objections?"

"No!" Crane and Lu said very quickly.

"Good, let's start the tour," Po said as they went down the mountain. They split up and went their different ways. Tigress took Krista through the route the Ru's house.

"I must ask Master Tigress," the female wolf started, "Why is the Dragon Warrior so interested in getting Lu and Master Crane together?" Tigress shrugged.

"Po has a way of trying strange and weird things. Sometimes they get us into trouble," Tigress smiled a little from the memory. "But he always comes through for us. I think he knows Crane is lovesick in a way." Tigress didn't really understand what she was saying. She wanted to say Po was looking out for his friend, but what she just said wasn't false, just confusing. Krista said,

"I don't understand," confirming Tigress's thoughts.

"He's just being him." Tigress shrugged, then she thought of something. If Krista was nearly the exact same as Tigress, then that meant...

It was worth a shot, she said to herself. "So, are you in a relationship with anyone?" Tigress asked the wolf. Since Krista had black fur her blush was very apparent.

"I don't think I'm very comfortable with that question," Krista replied careful. Tigress smirked. Just what she would have done. They continued on their way to Ru's house.

Meanwhile, Monkey's group and Po's group met up again and decided to form a big one. So Croc, Gorilla, Monkey, Ox, and Po were all in a group now. It was near noon, and Po decided to let the masters eat at his father's house. As they ate, the masters' eyes opened wide.

"This...is...amazing," Croc said in silent amazement. They started gulping the noodles down their throats. While this was happening, Monkey whispered over to Po.

"Why did you make our nervous bird go with the girl alone?" Monkey wondered. Po's smile returned brighter than ever.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure they're enjoying themselves. Plus, they did say they wanted to be alone," Po said, "I'm sure they are fine."

Meanwhile, Crane and Lu were in a bit of a wet spot. Literally. Crane brought Master Lu to the heavenly lake not too far from the village. He went there for peaceful times and to relax and do his drawings. However, Crane and Lu accidentally slipped and fell into the lake. As they both surfaced, Crane kept his face close to the water to cover it.

"I'm sorry that happened. I get a little clumsy around pretty girls," Crane said sadly. Lu smiled wickedly.

"Don't worry, I like getting wet every now and then. Especially when we have a splash fight," she said. Crane perked up in confusion.

"A splash fight?" Crane asked. Suddenly, Lu cupped her feathers and threw water at Crane's face. Crane's shock wore off as he splashed back. Pretty soon they were splashing about the lake until it was nearly sunset. "Come on, we better get to the others before they get suspicious," Crane said.

"You don't think returning soaking wet is suspicious enough?" Lu reminded him. Crane quickly grabbed a rag he brought and cleaned her up. Lu moved closer to him as he wiped her clean. Crane was blushing so much that he looked like a tomato. The same went for Lu. "Thank you Crane."

"No, thank you," Crane replied.

"For what?" Lu asked not realizing they were still dripping wet.

"For calming me. I've never been able to talk to very pretty women and your confidence helped me. I just wish I had the same confidence," Crane sighed sadly. Lu was silent for a moment. She wanted to make him feel better, but how? She quickly kissed him on the cheek, making him snap his attention to her.

"You do. Don't worry, I'm not always as brave as I seem," Lu said dogging herself down. Crane brought her closer to him, making her blush.

"You are to me," Crane said. She smiled as they made their way into the village and into Mr. Ping's shop where everyone was waiting...with smug smiles. Crane got tired of this.

"And where are your dates?" he asked the others.

"Ooo, nice comeback," Po smirked, "Okay, we'll leave you two alone...for now. But I get to be the ring bearer." Everyone laughed as the two birds blushed.

 **to be continued.**


	13. Day 13

Day 13: Friday

* * *

Tigress woke up to a familiar sound coming into her room. It sounded like a dying cat clawing on a chalkboard. Tigress groaned as she looked out the window and looked down to see a familiar duck. Then Po came in, "I got it," Po sighed, but Tigress halted him.

"No, I've got a better idea," Tigress said with a mischievous smile. Po was worried of what she was going to do. They went down stairs, walked to Jung's place, and knocked hard on the door. Jung opened the door with his violin in hand.

"Oh hello, Po and...I'm sorry I don't remember your name," Jung said.

"Tigress, and I was just above when I heard your violin," Tigress said with a grimaced face. Jung frowned.

"I'm sorry. I know it sounds horrible," Jung said remorsefully.

"Good, so I'm here to help you sound better," Tigress said with a smile. Po's eyes were wider than ever.

"Tiger say what the Ching-Chong now?" Po spoke in bewilderment. Tigress stepped inside leaving Po outside.

"I'll be back in a moment. Why don't you hang around the other masters for a while?" Tigress suggested with a smirk. When the door closed, Po just stared at it for a while before going back to the shop, where Monkey and Crane were waiting for him.

"Hey Po, what's up?" Monkey asked looking at the panda's blankly surprised face.

"I don't know anymore. Nothing makes sense," Po mumbled, confusing the monkey and bird. Po shook his head trying to make it work again. "Excuse me," He said as he went to his father. That situation jogged his memory of something. He went to the kitchen and whispered to his father. "Hey dad."

"Yes Po? Why are you whispering?" Mr. Ping asked.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in a gang? The knife-throwing Jung nonetheless!" Po asked in restrained frustration. Mr. Ping's eyes shot open. He quickly looked over the counter to see Monkey and Crane still talking to each other.

"How did you figure that out?" Mr. Ping whispered with firmness.

"I accidentally found out from a source," Po confessed trying not to tell about the secret library. Mr. Ping sighed.

"Well, you've seen our family. I was a wreck. Not being able to do Kung Fu and just being a noodle serving boy was heartbreaking. I love making noodles, but when it comes to our family, it's a shame-mark," Mr. Ping sadly said. Po looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, dad," Po mumbled. Mr. Ping smiled.

"Oh Po. I'm not upset that you wanted to learn Kung Fu. In fact, I'm glad. You are the symbol of hope for me," the goose said, getting his knife out, "And besides." He threw a cabbage up in the air and threw the knife right at it, splitting it in half, "There are some things I learned from that gang."

"So you knew all along that I was hiding my identity of Dragon Warrior to the rest of the family?" Po said looking ashamed. Mr. Ping shrugged.

"I had a suspicion. They wouldn't have been teasing you like that if they knew you were the Dragon Warrior," Mr. Ping suddenly looked around, "Do you want to know something else?" Po nodded. "My father and his father before him were all in the same gang. In fact, we use to be the leaders."

"What?! You!" Po exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"Don't act so surprise," Mr. Ping retorted.

"No I mean, it was shocking enough that you were a member," Po came back. Mr. Ping sighed.

"Well, we all knew that we needed to stay away from the gangs, so we quit. We were lucky. Most gangs you have to die in order to get out of them," the goose said making Po shiver. "That's why I'm glad you took up Kung Fu. You are able to do something I can't and stay away from those gangs." Po smiled as he hugged his dad.

"Thanks dad," Po said.

"Hey Po," Monkey called from outside the kitchen. Po went outside to a smiling Monkey. "Where's Tigress?" Po's smile turned into a frown very quickly.

"She's...helping someone. It's kinda hard to explain because even I don't know how it happened," Po said confusing himself again. Suddenly, two people came into the shop; it was relatively full. It was Krista and Lu. Po saw Crane smile brightly as they walked over. "Hello Master Krista, Master Lu. What brings you here?"

"We were just in town from our break and we thought we would have some fun with you guys," Master Lu smiled. Po smirked as he looked at Krista's annoyed face.

"What you really mean is YOU wanted to have some fun with us and you dragged HER with you," Po restated. Krista looked at him.

"We already have one of you, so it's pretty easy to transfer the way we treat you," Monkey smirked. Crane rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, what do you want to do?" He asked.

"I don't know. What do you guys typically do?" Lu asked.

"Well, we usually go around with Po because he gets us into trouble most of the time," Monkey snickered. Po glared at him. Monkey, Crane, and Po thought for a moment.

"Why don't we just go for a walk in the woods? It's not much, but it's better than standing here all day," Po offered. Monkey shrugged.

"I guess you're right. Maybe when we get back we can think of something else," Monkey said. So they walked out of town and just wandered around the forest.

"This place has very luscious and rich soil. All the tree are healthy and strong," Krista observed.

"You have an interest in gardening?" Monkey noted. Krista nodded, but then she noticed something. She looked behind her to see nothing out of sorts.

"What's wrong, Krista?" Lu asked.

"I...I thought I heard something," Krista said cautiously.

"It's probably the wind. One of the old people thought it was going to storm today," Po said. Then he heard the noise. "Wait, that's not the wind. It's sounds like...Viper's slithering." Krista took a closer look at one of the tree. She looked at the bottom to see...streak marks. Her eyes widened.

"The trees are moving!" She shouted. Suddenly, the whole forest came alive. Po, Crane, Monkey, Lu, and Krista chopped and sliced their way through the rising trees and grasses.

"Come on! We have to get out of here," Po shouted. Just then, a vine on the ground grabbed all of them by the leg. As they hung upside down, Po heard a familiar laughter.

"Hahahehe. Got you guys this time," said a voice from the tall grasses. Po groaned.

"Fung," Po mumbled. Fung and his whole croc bandit gang came out. "Master Krista, Master Lu, meet one of the saddest bandits in the Valley of Peace, Fung and his friends and Gary.

"It's Gah-ri," The croc corrected.

"Shut it," Fung fussed.

"How did you get the trees to attack us?" Krista asked with a snarl. Fung smiled as he revealed a little red book.

"With the help of my little spell book. Hey man, I'm some kind of wizard or something!" Fung said. Monkey and Crane grumbled.

"Let us go, Fung. We don't have anything for you," Crane said.

"Oh I think you're mistaken. I'm going to capture you and give you to one of top villains in China. Then people will see how powerful I am," Fung proudly said with his chest sticking out.

"Ahem," Coughed the rest of his gang.

"I mean us," Fung sighed.

"Wait, if that book brought the trees to life, then how are you controlling them?" Po asked. Suddenly, Fung and his gang were snatched up, hanging upside down from the vines.

"Darn it!" Fung muttered. Po pinched the top of his nose.

"So what now?" Crane asked.

"Now, we get out," Krista flipped up, gnawed off the vine of supporting her, quickly grabbed the book and waited for the vine to catch her again. "Okay," She started as she hung upside down. "Here's the cancel spell. 'HUNG HAN GANGNI JUNIN CAN AANG La La LANG!" With the last word the vines dropped all of them down on the ground and returned to normal.

"Whoa, thanks lady," Fung said.

"You do realize that we have to put you in jail now, right?" Lu reminded with a smirk.

"Darn it!" Fung shouted as he and his gang ran for their lives.

"Come on, first one to catch all of them wins," Po said competitively.

It was sunset when they finally took all the bandits back to jail and destroyed the book. The masters returned back to the village. "Sorry that happened," Crane said apologetically.

"Are you kidding? That was great! Finally got some action around this town," Lu said cheerfully.

"It was refreshing to beat up some bandits. I had a great time," Krista said with a small smile. Po smiled brightly.

"And that's what we aim for. Well, goodnight everyone," Po farewelled as they all went to their own places. Po yawned as he entered the shop. Mr. Ping had retired to bed early. Po didn't notice a soothing noise in the air. He went to his little makeshift bed in the kitchen and closed his eyes. "Hmm, pretty music. Sounds like Jung's practicing again," Po said sleepily. Then Po's eyes shot open. "Tigress," He muttered. He got out of bed and went up stairs where Tigress was looking outside the door at the stars. She turned to see Po.

"Oh, hello panda," Tigress smiled.

"Why?" Po asked.

"Why what?"

"Why did you help him with his playing?" Po asked. Tigress did help people but not like that. It was usually with protection not personal. Tigress just smiled.

"Oh I just wanted to help someone out. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Are you confused?"

"Yes," Po confessed readily. Tigress smiled even wider as she laid down in bed.

"Great! Goodnight Po," She said. Po's mouth just hung open as he returned to his bed. Today was just...weird.

 **to be continued.**


	14. Day 14

Day 14: Saturday

* * *

Po woke up to get the food ready for today. Just then, Tigress came down the stairs. Po stared straight at her. "What?" Tigress asked.

"What's with the mischief lately? You making me confused, teaching Jung to play well, and doing mischief? What's up with you?" Po said frustrated. Tigress smirked again.

"I just like seeing that confused face on you," She said cheekily, "Plus, you always said to have a little fun."

"How did you get him to play so well in one day?" Po asked.

"Would you believe that the violin was just in need of tuning. So easy," Tigress explained. Then her face became mischievous again. Po was worried now. "So, what do you have for me now?" Po smiled wickedly. He slowly cornered Tigress to a place no one could see them. Tigress was becoming nervous. "W-w-w-w-wwhat are you doing?"

"Ru told me something about you that I've never knew. I'm just trying to see if it's true," Po said as his hand went to top of her head and petted it. Tigress purred as her eyes closed to the touch. Po smiled. "You really do purr like a kitten when your head is petted," he said. Tigress's eyes snapped open and she pulled away from him.

"Why did Ru tell you about that?" Tigress asked a little embarrassed, but Po couldn't see her blush. Po smiled as he continued to pet her head.

"I just wanted to know something about you," Po smirked. Tigress still purred but she smirked back.

"I know something about you too," Tigress said as she scratched Po's itch spot. Po's eyes were half-lidded again and tongue hung out. Tigress giggled and purred at the same time. Po smiled back as they looked at each other. Tigress's smile was very nice, so was her eyes. They stopped their scratching and petting for a moment. Po never really saw Tigress this close before. She was very beautiful.

Tigress never noticed how green Po's eyes really were. They were very cute and alluring. Their heads slowly came closer to each other and they kissed. They lost themselves in the kiss. When they heard a noise, they instantly pushed away from each other. Their widened eyes just couldn't believe what they just did.

"I'm sorry II"

"No, no, I'm sorry I did-" They both stuttered. They just looked at each other. What did they just do? And more importantly, what would it lead too?

"Hey Po!" Monkey called from outside. Po and Tigress rushed out, separately as to not grab attention. "There you are, Po. I have something that all of us can do," Monkey said very excited.

"Wwhat do you have in mind?" Po asked. Po was still trying to get over what just happened with the tiger. He could see in the corner of his eye that Tigress was in a far off corner of the room not making eye contact.

"Jin and I were talking this morning and she said there's a nice cave that is said to be a place where Master Oogway trained. There's probably a lot of cool stuff there. Plus, a lot of dangerous stuff. It's going to be fun," Monkey said with a devious smile.

"Should I be concerned about the smile?" Po asked Crane. Crane shrugged unsure.

"Well, are you coming?" Monkey asked. Po thought for a moment.

"Actually, I have to work today. It's the weekend. Sorry, but Tigress could go, right Tigress?"

"Yeah...um...I'll go with you guys," Tigress readily agreed. Monkey and Crane looked at each other and shrugged.

"Okay, see you later Po," Monkey farewelled as the three went out. Po sighed as he started stirring the pot of noodles.

"Why did I do that?" Po muttered to himself.

"Why did I do that?" Tigress muttered to herself as they left the town.

"What?" Crane questioned.

"Nothing," Tigress said in her usual stone cold style. Crane quickly backed off. They came to a dark rocky place where the clouds over head were blocking the sun. The tan mountainous region had a lot of smooth rocks. The weird thing was there were no lakes or rivers nearby. It was looked just like a barren wasteland. "How is it that these rocks are so smooth, but there's no water?" Tigress asked herself. She quickly got her answer when a jet of steam came bursting out of the ground nearly sizzling Monkey.

"OWOWOW! Hot butt! HOT BUTT!" He screamed running around to cool off. Tigress growled to silence Monkey's whining and Crane's laughing.

"We have to get to that cave before we become hot dishes from these geysers," Tigress commanded. The two nodded. They looked around the rocky valley looking for the cave when suddenly, a geyser bursted a heavy rock revealing a cave behind it.

"That must be the cave," Monkey directed. They ran into the cave before the rock came down again.

"So how do we get out?" Crane asked.

"We'll just push the rock, or the geyser will left the rock," Tigress said plainly. Crane took out a torch that he brought along and struck it against the rock, lighting it. They started down the long cave.

"Tigress, can I ask you something?" Crane said out of the blue.

"If it's about Lu, I'm sorry. I can't help you in that area," Tigress replied.

"No, it's about you and Po," Crane clarified. Tigress' eyes widened.

"Oh Great Kong," Monkey muttered only to be silenced by Tigress again.

"Wwwhat do you mean?" Tigress stuttered a bit.

"Well, I was hoping that you would have learned something from him," Crane replied in disappointment. Now Tigress was just plain confused.

"What are you talking about Crane?"

"I was just hoping that...you would learn to...lighten up a bit. I thought that living with Po would make you a little less tense. I guess I was wrong," Crane explained. Monkey mocked him.

"Yeah you were wrong! Not even Po could change her," Monkey said. Tigress quickly whispered to Crane so Monkey couldn't hear.

"Ask me again some other time," She said. Crane was a little surprised but nodded. "Are you sure that this is the cave, Monkey?" Just as she said that a light came from a rock behind the end of the cave.

"Come on, look for a switch or something," Monkey urged. They looked all around for a lever or switch. Finally, Crane came across a large ball-shaped rock and pressed it, making the cave open. Inside, they saw a hundred or so scrolls on bookshelves and on the floor. The light came from a wide thin sheet of paper designed to let in light and look like rock from the outside. "Look at all this," Monkey marveled, "Oogway must have made more than a thousand of these."

"A thousand at the palace and a thousand here. Why?" Tigress questioned.

"Wait a minute, these aren't kung fu fighting scrolls. These are writings," Crane said as he picked up one of the scrolls and read it. It said:

 _"I wish to be better, more acceptable to my own standards. But I can not. Not even the self-discipline that I hold on myself can steer me away from the wrongdoing that I do."_

"I don't understand. What is Oogway talking about?" Monkey asked. Then it dawned on Tigress.

"These are Master Oogway's personal journals. That's why it's hidden away. Master Shifu always said he went away to do something in the middle of the night. This must be it!" Tigress thought for a moment. "Come on, let's get as many of these scrolls that we can. We'll give them to Master Shifu and tell him about this place." Monkey and Crane nodded as they started to get some of the scrolls. Luckily, there were some crates there that could hold about fifty scrolls. Once the geyser pushed up the rock, they hurried out the cave and went up to the Jade Palace mountain. They explained to Shifu about the cave. Needless to say, he was shocked.

"This is my master's story," He quietly marveled. He composed himself and said, "Good work, masters. Um, Master Monkey, a person named Jin was up here. Said something about remembering a date?" Monkey's eyes widened.

"Oh shoot I'm almost late!" Monkey gasped as he hurried down the mountain. Tigress rolled her eyes as Crane and her went down at a slower pace. Crane looked all around him then said.

"Okay, now why did you want me to ask you the question later?" Crane discreetly said to the tiger.

"I didn't want Monkey to mock me," Tigress said in a snarl. Her expression softened when Crane asked.

"So what about you and Po?" Tigress stopped for a moment.

"Can I tell you something that you promise never to tell the others? Not even Lu," Tigress asked.

"The others yes. Lu, I'm not sure I can lie if the question is asked," Crane said honestly.

"Well, good enough...Po has changed me in a way. And yes, I do have umm... I mean I have learned some things from him that have changed me."

"Then why not show it?" Crane asked. Tigress's face turned into a deadpan look. "Right, Monkey and Mantis."

"And Viper. It's just that I can't trust anyone other than Po. Not even you, sorry," Tigress sighed. Crane smiled as he laid his wing on her shoulder.

"Tigress, it's only until Po came that we've started acting like family. I more than anyone understand that you don't trust us yet. And I understand that you trust Po over us. He is very trustworthy. You're practically my big sister and I have to take care of you just like I have to take care of my annoying brothers, Mantis and Monkey," Crane joked. Tigress smiled like she would with Po. "I'm guessing Po sees that a lot," Crane smirked a bit. Tigress looked away blushing. Crane shook his head with a smile. "Well, I have to get back to my place. We have work tomorrow so I don't know what you'll do without us."

"I'll manage," Tigress said rolling her eyes. "I hope," She said in her mind. With that, Crane flew down the mountain the rest of the way. Tigress was worried as she entered the shop. She remembered the...incident earlier today and she was worried what Po would say. Po was in the same place she had last seen him, stirring a pot of noodle. Po glanced at the door and saw that Tigress was there. Tigress could see he was nervous as he spoke.

"SSso, how was the cave?" He asked not looking at her.

"Fine, just fine," Tigress replied going past him and not looking at him, "I'll just go to bed. Good night."

"Good night," Po replied. Tigress collapsed on her side in the bed. She thought about a question that Po asked a little while back. _"What do you see me as?"_ She couldn't answer that at the moment. She couldn't even answer it now. She sighed as she fell asleep, but one thought crossed her mind as she did.

"I'm getting close to figuring out, though."

 **to be continued.**


	15. Day 15

Day 15: Sunday

* * *

Tigress woke bright and early the next morning. She was feeling fine until she remembered the day before. She groaned as a familiar pain in her stomach came up. She rose out of bed and went down the stairs to run right into Po walking up the stairs. They stared at each other for a long time in silence. "I was...just going over to Ru's house. Did you need something?" Tigress nervously asked.

"No no, I was just...making sure you were up," Po recovered. Tigress nodded as they descended the stairs. Then Po gave a great sigh. "Tigress can we talk?"

"Umm about what?" Tigress asked not really wanting to talk about what he had in mind.

"You know what I mean. Look, I'm sorry for what I did and I don't want to make you uncomfortable every time we see each other. I just don't want to lose my best friend," Po sighed. Tigress's eyes lit up. "Best Friend"? She was surprised. She knew they were friends but she didn't know Po considered her his best friend. Tigress smiled on the inside. Truth be told, she wanted to keep her best friend too.

"I'm sorry too. Let's just say we were caught up in the moment, okay?" Tigress offered. Po nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, and I just messed up as usual," Po replied. Tigress chuckled as she smirked back. She hugged Po around the neck since he was on the lower stair.

"Thanks Po," She said cheerfully. Po made a goofy grin. As they went down the stairs, they met a familiar face.

"Lin, how are you doing?" Po asked with a smile. However, Lin wasn't smiling. In fact, she looked nervous, sad, and regretful all in one. "What's wrong Lin?"

"Umm...I wanted to talk to you alone, but I'm guessing it's okay with the people here?" Lin asked as if stepping on thin ice.

"About what?" Po asked. Lin whispered in his ear. After she did, Po glared at Tigress with a cold stare. Tigress stepped back as she asked what was wrong. "She said that there was a rumor about me having a crush on her." Tigress's eyes popped open.

"I didn't tell her," She claimed innocently. Po looked over to Mr. Ping, suspiciously whistling as he stirred the pot noodles.

"Dad."

"Okay, I told her. I thought she knew already," He confessed. Po took a deep breath and sighed.

"Yes, that rumor is true. I used to have a crush on you when we were little, and it lasted until the last time I saw you," Po said with his head down. Lin was shocked.

"Oh Po, I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You always saw me as a brother and I didn't want to cross that line. Actually, the day at the wedding celebration is when I was going to tell you," Po explained. He could see a guilty expression coming over Lin's face. "Don't worry, I'm over it now. Plus, you're married to Gan, and he's quite a keeper," Po winked making Lin blush. She hugged his big belly.

"Remember Po, you're not only my brother, you're one of my best friends," Lin said. Po smiled as he hugged back. With that, the fox went out of the shop. Po sighed.

"Well, now that that's over, what do you want to do Tigress?" He asked.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine?" She asked in genuine concern. Po smiled.

"I'll be okay," Po replied, reassuring Tigress. Just then, they heard a familiar noise. They looked to the entrance to see Viper and Mantis with Master Gorilla.

"Tigress, Po! It's so good to see you two again," Viper said 'jumping' in Po's arms. She wrapped around his neck nearly hugging him to death.

"Good to see you too," Po wheezed out, "I didn't think you would miss us so much." Viper released her grip on his neck and slithered down his back, giving him the shivers. "Can you NOT do that again?"

"Sorry, I'm just so glad to see you guys again," Viper said very happily. Viper respectfully bowed to Tigress. Mantis hopped on Po's shoulder.

"And what about me? What am I chopped dumping?" Mantis argued.

"It's good to see you, too," Po replied, "But why are you here, Master Gorilla?"

"Because I'm a friend of Great Master Viper," Gorilla said stepping out of the way. Just then, two serpents. One was very similar to Viper only her voice was a little lower. The other was a light brown male snake. This was the mother and father of Viper.

"Great Master Viper!" Po exclaimed rushing over to bow to the snake. Viper covered herself with her tail, not wanting to see Po geek out in front of her parents. "It's a great honor to see you. I've heard so much about you and your legend."

"I am flattered Mr..."

"Po," He said. Great Master Viper's eyes widened. He looked over to Viper with the same wide eyes. Viper nervously nodded.

"Po? Ah, yes, the Dragon Warrior. I'll be honest I wasn't expecting someone like you...I mean I've heard a lot about you," He stumbled. Po's eyes narrowed a bit. Tigress could see his sad expression surface for a fraction of a second before he could shove it down again. Po shrugged.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot," Po replied, "Dad, can you make some soup for our guests?" So Po and his father started making the noodles for the guests.

"Viper!" Tigress whispered to the snake while Gorilla and the two snakes sat down.

"What, I didn't mean for them to say that and be insensitive," Viper said defensively.

"Yeah, but it shows what you tell your parents about him," Tigress explained.

"He stumbled up. Po couldn't possible read into that so much," Viper replied, "Besides, it's not like they listened to everything I said about him. Plus, not everything I said was a bad thing." Tigress eyed the snake suspiciously. As Po came back with the noodles, Gorilla was explaining how he knew Great Master Viper.

"Well, I wasn't always a good warrior. I used to be a very bad criminal. This was after Viper left. When I ran into Great Master Viper, he actually wanted to kill me first," Gorilla said making everyone gasp, "But he saw something in me that was worth redeeming. So he trained me, turned me around, and I became a master later on."

"Wow, very interesting," Mantis said, "Mrs...Viper..."

"You can call me Kyla," Viper's mother said with a kind smile.

"So, Kyla, we were wondering how Viper was as a baby?" Mantis asked with a wicked smile. Viper's glare was enough to kill, but her mother still smiled.

"Oh, Viper was a very calm person. She wasn't much trouble as you may think," Kyla replied.

"So, how did she begin fight?" Mantis asked.

"Oh it was when she didn't have any fangs," Po answered, shocking everyone except Great Master Viper, Tigress, and Po.

"How did you know that?" Viper asked. Tigress quickly explained the way Po knew each of them. Viper and Mantis were surprised. Po's smile came out full and bright when he asked Great Master Viper a question.

"Great Master Viper, what exactly has Viper told you about me?" Po asked. Viper's face paled.

"Well, she's been talking a lot in means of size," Viper tail-palmed herself, "clumsy actions," Viper grimaced, "And how many times you've gotten people like her in trouble," He finished. Viper dropped her head on the table. "Honey, are you okay?"

"Peachy," She muttered. Tigress and Mantis eyed her down angrily. So much for the nice snake they knew before this. But her image was the last thing on Viper's mind. She felt awful for even thinking all that stuff about Po. It made Tigress and Mantis feel guilty too. It brought up the memories of what they did and said about Po. Viper lifted her head just enough to see that Po still had his smile on. Viper just felt awful. Finally, when Great Master Viper had said enough embarrassing things, he and Kyla went to their inn. Gorilla went back up the mountain. When Viper showed her parents to the inn, she slithered back so low to the ground it was amazing how her head wasn't touching it. Po stood right above her. "Po, I am so so sorry. I had no right to even think those things and I should have never told my parents any of that. Please forgive me," She pleaded. Tigress and Mantis were still at the table looking at the scene. Po's smile faded.

"Viper, do you know what it's like to have a best friend of yours say I hate you, wishing you were dead, and actually mean it?" Viper sadly shook her head. "Well, that's what I had to face. What your father said was nothing. I know I'm hard to live with and you have a right to have your personal thoughts and feelings kept to yourself. In other words, you don't have to feel so guilty about it." Viper, Mantis, and Tigress were all shocked by this gesture. If Viper, being the kind person that she was, was commenting about him behind his back, then it did say something about Po himself. Viper launched into his arms and wrapped around his neck.

"Thanks Po, I'm so sorry for what I've said and done," She apologized.

"It's alright. Plus, your father and I were just playing a prank on you," Po smirked. Viper's eyes popped open and she slithered back to the ground to look at him with a mildly angered stare.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, when I was serving in your village, I met Great Master Viper personally and we became friends. Before you came here, he sent a letter saying it would be a great idea to embarrass you by mentioning all the stuff you said behind my back," Po smiled. Viper's face just fell as Mantis laughed and Tigress smiled.

"Okay, okay. I got you, you got me. Fair?" She asked extending her tail for him to shake. Po smiled as he took it and shook it.

"Fair," Po replied, "Well, since everyone is here, we can have some more fun in the village." Everyone agreed.

 **to be continued.**


	16. Day 16

Day 16: Monday

* * *

"No, no, and no," Tigress replied sternly and loudly.

"Oh come on, Tigress. It's just for one day," Po pleaded. Tigress rolled her eyes while still being a bit flustered by what Po asked her.

"Po, it's lying to your family; it's dishonorable; and with a history like yours, it's bound to fail," Tigress pointed out. Po sighed.

"She does have a point," Mr. Ping added.

"You stay out of this," Po redirected. Mr. Ping backed out in playful defensive, throwing up his hands. "It's just for one day and no one will even know or care."

"I won't do it Po. It's wrong," Tigress replied.

"And so is everything else that I've done. What's the problem with this one," Po asked frustrated.

"You're asking me to lie with you to your whole family," Tigress shot back.

"That's not much of a reason," Po muttered.

"Po," Tigress warned.

"Why are you so defensive about it? It's like an act! We just do our parts and everyone goes home free," Po said. The rest of the Furious Five watched in anticipation and worry as the two duked it out.

"Po, you're asking me to fake being your wife! That's kind of...personal," Tigress replied. Po smiled nervously. Tigress was in a bit of jam. Po had explained his situation of his family to the others. Po and Mr. Ping were going to his family's reunion. They decided that they would come with Po to support him. However, Po came up with the idea of making Tigress his wife because it would be a lot more convincing and maybe his family would be less mean to him and his father. The team agreed that they would lay low and not tell the family that he was the Dragon Warrior or that they were warriors. But Tigress was having trouble with accepting to play along with being Po's wife. Po motioned her to the side to make sure the others didn't hear.

"Listen, everyone already thinks we're a couple, why not play along with it?" Po offered. Tigress sighed.

"Po, it's wrong. You can't deceive your family like this," she said. Po rolled his eyes.

"You and your morals," He said frustrated. "So are you in or not?" Tigress mauled it over.

"Fine, but this never leaves any of us, got it?!" she said threateningly. The others nodded frightened.

"Of all the women in the world you had to get the one that has an anger problem," Mantis murmured. Tigress growled shutting him up.

"Come on, we'll be late!" Mr. Ping said. They don't remember the trip there, but they do remember getting there. The moment they saw the family, they knew that Po and Mr. Ping _had_ to be the outcasts of the family. They saw mighty warriors and men and women in fine robes, decorated clothes, and tattered armor. It was also an array of pigs, ducks, foxes, and cats. The others didn't know that Po's family was so big and diverse, and, surprisingly, Po was the only person in the whole family that was adopted. The reunion was called to remember Mr. Ping's father, which was by a large white brick house with two stories and windows on the top. It was one of the family's grand houses. It had marble columns in front, each with a golden banner around it. The roof was a jade green and formed in the ancient style of the day. The others weren't very shocked, but they were surprised by the family. Immediately as they came in, one relative greeted them. A lanky but overconfident snow leopard man with a blue open vest on. His crocked smile reminded Po of Lin's old boyfriend.

"Ping, Pong! Glad you could make it," The snow leopard said. Po sadly smiled at their nicknames. It was suppose to be a joke.

"Hello, Cousin Han," Po bowed.

"That's Master Han to you. I've just been accepted as a master by the high council," He said proudly.

"Well congratulations, cous- I mean Master Han," Po replied. Mr. Ping went to the kitchen to start making some food. He was to be the cook. Han eyed Master Tigress by his side.

"And how are you my lovely sweet?" Han said trying to impress. It took every ounce of strength in both Po and Tigress not to snap the guy's neck.

"Fine," She muttered.

"Her name is Tigress. I decided to bring her along with me," Po explained but Han was too busy with trying to butter up to her.

"Well, may I give you a tour of our family?" Han offered. Tigress smirked as she was about to lay down the hurt.

"Sorry," She said in a sweet voice, "But I'd rather go with my husband." She clung to Po's arm. Po smirked at Han's disappointed yet shocked face.

"Oh, Po you didn't tell me that you had a wife," He said.

"You never asked," Po said as he and the gang walked over to somewhere they could talk privately. "Why didn't you say tell him the truth like you were complaining about?" Po asked with a smirk.

"Po, I didn't think your family was like that. These people deserve to be left in the dark," Tigress grumbled, snarling at the snow leopard they just left.

"Alright, everyone know their parts," Po asked.

"Yep, we each have a fake job and you brought us here because we're friends," Crane replied. Po nodded and let them mingle with the folks. Monkey met Aunty Ai-Lin, a skilled sword-wielding deer.

"So, you're Po's friend, eh?" Ai-Lin asked feeling sorry for him, but Monkey didn't pick up on it until later. "I hope you can handle him. With all his eating and the smell of noodles in the house, yuck!" Monkey was shocked but he tried his best to defend Po.

"Po's a nice guy. He can really help people." Ai-Lin scoffed.

"WE, the warriors and masters, help people, but I wouldn't expect you to understand that," Ai-Lin said. Monkey didn't tell her that he was a warrior-none of them did.

"So what GOOD things do you know about Po?" Monkey asked trying to give Po some credit.

"Well, he's good at eating us out of house and home," Ai-Lin laughed. Monkey just awkwardly left her there. Mantis and Crane met Po's Uncle Ba-Bu, a big hairy gorilla.

"Mr. Ping's seems to cook very well, doesn't he?" Crane said starting a conversation that he would later regret. Ba-Bu laughed.

"Yeah, I would be too if that's all I was good for," He chortled out. Crane and Mantis felt sorry for Mr. Ping because he was right behind him as he was serving the food. "So how did that panda drag you in here?"

"Oh, well, I work at a construction company and my friend Crane runs an inn," Mantis said using the stories that Po made up for them, "Po's a good friend of ours and we decided to go with him." Ba-Bu laughed again.

"Good friend! You mean pity friend. I know you're just friends with him because you feel sorry for him. You two are good people. Warrior worthy. No one would want to be friends with that useless panda," Ba-Bu laughed. Crane and Mantis quietly contained their rage. Po was their best friend and they wanted to backlash this guy for saying such things about Po. But Po told them to not get offended or try to defend him. So they just quietly left to help Mr. Ping with the food. Viper's experience wasn't much better. She met sister Su, a Kung Fu fighting goose. Viper was commenting about how well she knew Po. Su's eyes spread wide open.

"You mean you actually LIKE Po as a friend. I mean, I would imagine that a panda like him would eat everything you had," She said insensitively.

"He doesn't eat that much," Viper defended.

"Please, the boy could eat a house and still have room for desserts. If he were ever to become a warrior, he would be 'the Eating Monster'" She laughed. Viper wasn't one to get angry quickly, but this goose had accomplished that in two words. Viper quickly went over to Po before she lost her cool. Tigress decided to stay with Po. All of Po's friends came back to him with angry and disappointed faces. Po tried to give them a reassuring smile.

"So how do you like the family?" Po asked.

"Can we go now?" Mantis said bluntly. Po sighed.

"I guess you didn't like some of the stuff they said?"

"Po, WE, the villains we face, the village, and the whole valley weren't as bad as this family when you were growing up. And this is your family?!" Viper said disappointed and appalled at the same time. Po sighed.

"Now you understand why I don't particularly like my family," Po said, "So do you think I should tell them I'm the Dragon Warrior?"

"These people do NOT even deserve to know that you work at the Jade Palace. Leave them in the dark!" Monkey exclaimed.

"Shh! Okay okay. I understand that the family upset you guys, but I don't think shouting about it will help," Po quieted them in a laughing manner, but the team was still hot.

"I just can't believe that they would say such things about their own blood. I mean I kind of, and I mean 'kind of', understand why they would be mean to Po because he's adopted," Crane added, "but they even think Mr. Ping like this? They are mean."

"Don't judge them too badly. You were like them when I first got to the Palace, remember?" Po replied.

"Yes, we were because we didn't know you all that well, and since then we are sorry. But these people know how kind, loving, and caring you are and they still treat you like we did? That's not acceptable!" Viper raged. Po needed to divert their anger so they wouldn't attract attention.

"Calm down guys. We're just here to make the food," Po soothed. Then he saw someone that he didn't expect at the party. Po ran to the people straight away. "Master Lu, Master Krista, what are you doing here?" Po panicked.

"We were sent here because of reports of suspicious Qi-don activity. Is this your family?" Krista asked.

"Yeah, but you have to be careful NOT to mention that I'm the Dragon Warrior," Po said. Suddenly, the wall of the courtyard crashed to reveal a whole army of oxen guards with Temuti at the front laughing wickedly.

"Finally, I've found the Ping family. Now I can destroy you all! HAHAHAHAHA!" Temuti laughed.

"Can you say 'plan is failing'?" Tigress teased Po. Po glared at her.

"Quickly, hide my dad behind the kitchen and stay there until I give you the signal," Po commanded. The Furious Five listened and did just that. "Lu and Krista fight with my family." Lu and Krista did.

"We'll get you, Temuti," Han said try to slash Temuti with a sword. Temuti grabbed him out of the air and threw him into a cage. He did the same with the other family. It all went down to Lu and Krista.

"You must not be apart of this family. I've never seen you two," Temuti commented.

"No, but you've seen this one of us," Krista growled. Po came out from behind them.

"YOU! You're part of the Ping Family, Po!" Temuti exclaimed.

"Unfortunately," Aunty Ai-Lin muttered.

"Let them go, Temuti!" Po ordered.

"Please Po," said Sister Su, "Don't get yourself killed. Leave it to us."

"Just answer me this. How can someone like _you_ be apart of this, THIS family?" Temuti asked.

"I'm adopted."

"That explains a lot. Wow! I feel sorry for you, to be related to this family," Temuti said.

"EXCUSE US," The people in the cage shouted.

"Half these people have done certain things to drag Kung Fu to the grave. Accepted bribes, frame innocent people. This is not a random attack, this is revenge for framing me." Po stared at him. "I mean I did do it but still. At least you put me in jail for a crime I did."

"What is he talking about Po?" Ba-bu questioned.

"You mean you didn't tell them?" Temuti said surprised.

"Do they deserve to know?" Po asked rhetorically.

"You're right about that. Well, Dragon Warrior, why don't you show them what you can really do?" Temuti smirked charging at him. Po tapped the top of the counter near the kitchen. Mr. Ping jumped out from underneath it and threw a knife that curved and struck the lock on the holding the family. Temuti was surprised. "Even the duck!" Po shrugged.

"I was as surprised as you," Po murmured. Then the Furious Five came out. "Get them." Like that they rushed them. Tigress and Krista jumped on top of the guards and punched their horns right off their heads. Temuti tried to take Po down but Po dodged every attack. Po slipped under him, climbed on his head, and waited until Temuti pounded and pounded his head to get him. Temuti pounded his head unto unconsciousness. Finally, the Qi-don ran out to the hill carrying Temuti. "Well, that was interesting," Po commented. Then the rest of his family stared at him angrily.

"Dragon Warrior! You're the Dragon Warrior?! Why didn't you tell us?" They interrogated. Before Po could answer, Tigress growled loudly.

"HEY!" She shouted. "You don't deserve to have Po and Mr. Ping as family members. You guys treated him like dirt and don't care about him. Po is loving, caring, and kind-hearted. He's the best warrior the world has ever known. I'm proud to be his wife." With that Tigress grabbed Po's arm as he, Mr. Ping, the Furious Five, Lu, and Krista left the family ashamed and dishonored. Po smirked at Tigress. "What?"

"Why didn't you tell them the truth about us?" Po asked smugly. Tigress looked away from Po embarrassed.

"Well, they don't deserved to know all the truth," Tigress said defensively. Po smiled, but then Monkey butted in.

"Wow, so when's the real wedding, you two?"

"Shut up Monkey!" Tigress and Po shot back.

"Well," Mr. Ping sighed, "All in all this was a good family reunion."

"How?" Tigress asked. Mr. Ping looked at the tiger with a smile.

"Because we're all here. This is my family. This is my home, and I'm glad to call all of you my family," Mr. Ping smiled.

"Group hug," Viper shouted grabbing everyone into a huddle.

 **to be continued.**

 **To be honest, I read my updates sometimes and I want the next chapter, forgetting that I wrote the darn thing.**


	17. Day 17

Day 17: Tuesday

* * *

Tigress woke up from her long rest. The light from the window was a bit hazy and gave the room a melting feel. Tigress then noticed that she was sweating. It was like an oven. She quickly got out of her room and tried to fan herself. That just brought more hot air her way. She went down stairs to see Po sprawled out on the floor with his tongue out. He was panting like a dog. Tigress rolled her eyes. "I see that you're up...or down rather," Tigress said.

"Can't talk," Po wheezed, "Saving moisture in mouth for survival." Tigress rolled her eyes again. "I would ask what you want to do but today we're going to find a way to get cool." Just then, Crane and Lu came in hand and hand. "Hey lovebirds! Hehe puns. What are you doing?" Po said standing back up.

"We were actually going to ask you the same question, but I guess that we're all trying to get the same thing. Relief," Crane muttered.

"Which is why we wanted to invite you two to a place we can go to stay cool," Lu said. They suddenly noticed that Po wasn't where he previously was and he was at the door. "He's fast when he wants to be."

"What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!" Po said excitedly. There they went to the mystery place that Crane had mentioned.

"So where are we going, Crane?" Tigress asked.

"There's a peacefully secluded lake near here that I go to relax. I thought that it would be a perfect time for us to take a dip in it," the bird explained.

"Is this the same lake that you and Lu went into and returned wet to the shop?" Po smirked. The two birds blushed. Soon, they were near the lake when a question came into Po's head. "Crane, why didn't you invite the others here?"

"Well, Viper had to stay with her parents and I thought that it would be nice just to have a couples' day out," Crane smiled widely. Tigress and Po blushed.

"Crane, we aren't a couple," Tigress corrected.

"And neither are Lu and I," Crane stated.

"Yet," The two bird thought to themselves.

"I say that so we don't tease each other. Got it?" Crane said. Tigress and Po nodded in agreement. They finally got to the lake. Po and Tigress were very impressed about the beauty of the lake.

"Crane," Tigress realized, "What are we going to change into?"

"CANNONBALLL!" Po shouted as he plunged into the lake, soaking everyone on the shore.

"Nevermind," Tigress muttered. Soon, everyone was in the lake, except Tigress, who stayed on the hot side of the lake. While Crane and Lu were on the far side of the lake having another splash fight, Po came over to Tigress.

"What's the matter? Are you afraid of the water?" Po asked sincerely.

"No! I'm afraid of nothing," Tigress growled.

"Then why don't you get in the water?" Po asked. Tigress didn't answer for a while.

"Bad memories," Tigress muscled out. Po came out of the lake dripping wet and sat next to Tigress.

"You want to talk about it?" Po offered. Tigress sighed. He wasn't going to let up about something that was bothering her, so she might as well confess.

"Every time I see a large body of water I...remember the time we were fighting Shen. I...nearly lost you," Tigress slowly said.

"But that's not the only thing that's bothering you," Po said knowingly. Tigress sighed.

"These couple of weeks have made that memory more haunting because...I don't know what would have happened if..." She stopped herself. She couldn't say it. Po just looked into space as he listened.

"Can I tell you something personal?" Po asked. Tigress nodded. "When I first came here I was scared and terrified of you. I tried everything in my power to stay away from you. But now? I don't know what I would do with you." Tigress blushed but she was still confused. "My point is that I understand your fear of losing the people you...are close to," He said choosing his words carefully, "But you have to get over that fear because you'll worry those who care about you to death." Tigress nodded. She stood up and took a deep breath.

"Thanks Po. Now... I have to do something that I'm uncomfortable doing," Tigress said staring the water down.

"What's that?" Po asked.

"CANNON BALL!" She shouted as she plunged into the lake. Po laughed shocked and surprised. It wasn't until Tigress surfaced that he stopped. He was amazed at what he saw. Tigress head surfaced, throwing the water back. The drops of water lovingly hugged her fur and seem to radiate the orange, black, and white fur. Her eyes, half-lidded, dreamingly looked Po's way, and the water ran down her vest. She was beautiful...again. "What's the matter Po?" Tigress asked concerned why he was staring at her. Po turned completely around and hid his face.

"Nothing," He denied. Soon, Lu and Crane came over to their side of the lake.

"Nice to see you're in the lake, Tigress. I didn't think that you were going to get in," Crane commented. Po quickly went to the low cliff over the lake to sit down. "What's wrong with Po?"

"I'm not sure," Tigress replied with smirked. Meanwhile, Po was on the cliff trying to compose himself.

"'It's okay,' I said. 'You can stay with me,' I said. Man, I'm an idiot. Why does everything have to be so complex?" Po huffed. "Well, this is nowhere to think right now. BODY SLAM!" Po shouted as he slapped the water with his big belly, forming a wave that drenched Tigress, Lu, and Crane. As Po surfaced, the annoyed stares of his friends were enough to heat up the lake. "Hehe sorry." Tigress smirked as she shook her head.

"You have something on your face," Tigress smirked as she splashed him in the face. They all laughed. Pretty soon, the sun began to set on the lake.

"Well, it's time for us to get back to the shop," Crane said. As they went their way, Crane asked Lu, "I must ask. Why is Krista the way she is? I mean, I know why Tigress is the way she is, but what's Krista's story?" Lu sighed painfully.

"Though she may act the same as Tigress, she doesn't have the same story. She use to be the daughter of a single blacksmith. But there were raids from bandits in her town and one of the raid left her an orphan. She was about six years old. After that, she was taken in by a gang leader. That's where she got her fighting from. She knew what the leader had her doing was wrong, but she wanted to learn the trade in order to get revenge. Finally, when she was about seventeen she," Lu paused making a shiver, "She killed the ring leader. They don't know where the body is."

"Whoa," Po said in awe.

"After that, she started training under a former Kung Fu master and she quickly became one," Lu finished.

"Wow, she...had it rough," was all Tigress could say, but she saw Po's smile.

"Which means I have to cheer her up!" He said excited.

"Oh no," Muttered Tigress and Crane. Lu just giggled.

"I'm sure she's fine, Dragon Warrior. A local friend of hers has helped to get her a little...softer," Lu said slyly. Po stopped just outside the door of the shop when he heard the smugness in her voice.

"What do you mean by that?" Po asked voicing the question everyone was asking. Lu just smiled.

"Well, she had a friend that kind of acts just like you. He's a Kung Fu lion master that use to help around her temple before he left. He's name was Ling," Lu said. Crane chuckled.

"You mean there are two of Po? Oh no!"

"Hey!" Po shot back offended. Crane just continued to laugh.

"I'm just kidding," Crane recovered after Lu hit him in the ribs.

"He was really nice. Had the same golden heart I've seen Po have. But I wouldn't tell her this. She gets a bit...upset when she talks about it," Lu finished.

"Well, it's time that we all get back to our places. Good night everyone," Po said as everyone went to their own rooms and beds.

 **to be continued.**


	18. Chapter 18

Day 18: Wednesday

* * *

This was a scene that you wouldn't really see every day. Po was going over to Huang again. He had heard that he was sick and went to go check on him. His companion was someone that made the trip weird. As Po and Krista walked down the dirt path to Huang's house, Krista said, "So, who is this guy we're going to see?"

"He's an old family friend of ours and he's under the weather. I'm just going over there to see if he's okay," Po replied. "I must say that I'm surprised that you went with me alone." This confused the wolf.

"Why do you say that?" She asked.

"Well, with Monkey, Crane, and Tigress off retrieving the lost scrolls of Oogway's personal journal, I'm surprised you wanted to go with me and not either go with them or train at the palace," Po explained. Krista looked away nervously. "She gets nervous the same way Tigress does, interesting," Po noted to himself.

"Well, there's a...rumor that you act like a person that I know of," Krista said carefully. Po smirked.

"You mean Ling?" Krista's eye darted towards the panda in an angry scowl.

"What did Gorilla tell you?!" She demanded.

"I have other ways of figuring out people other than the masters. I am a skillful observer of present and past things," Po said overzealously. Krista just glared at Po with an unbelieving look.

"Lu told you, didn't she?" She said bluntly. You could practically hear Po's pride and glory crash to the floor. Po hung his head as he nodded. "Why did she tell you that?" She asked angry.

"Well, we were wondering why you act so much like Tigress. So she told us how...tough your life was and that a certain lion was helping you forget about your past," Po replied, "I'm sorry that your life was so rough." Krista was taken back by this. Why was he apologizing? He didn't do it. Krista then formed a little smile on her face.

"He really is just like Ling," She told herself. She said out loud, "It's alright. Compared to your life, I don't think mine was that hard."

"How? I've had it easy," Po stated.

"You call being teased, abused, bullied, and hurt by your friends, family, idols, and enemies easy?" Po nodded. "You're tougher than I thought." Finally, they got to Huang's house. As they entered, they could see that the duck looked older than usual. The room had a distinct air of depression. Huang's eyes were half-lidded and staring at the ceiling. He moved around under his blanket to get some warmth. Po knew he was sick because it was pretty hot in the house. Suddenly, the goat noticed Po.

"Ah, Po! I'm so glad to see you. Come in, come in," he hurried. The two warriors sat down at the table near Huang's bed.

"They said you were getting better," Po commented.

"Sickness is all in the mind. It doesn't matter what happens as long as you have a strong will," Huang brushed away, "And this is another friend of yours?"

"Yes, this is Krista, one of the masters staying at the Jade Palace." Krista bowed to the duck. "So what's the disease?"

"They say it's a cold but I don't think the doc's got it right," Huang said sadly.

"I can always check you out," said Po cheekily, "check temperature, check your breathing, read your hand, show your vitals-"

"No no no," Huang laughed, "The last time I had you 'check me' I nearly got burned." Krista looked over to the panda in shock.

"I...was...trying to see if warming him up would get rid of his cold. It made child sense to me," He said defensively. Huang rummaged around under his pillow and pulled out a Mahjong tile.

"Po, take this. I want you to have this. This is the first Mahjong tile I ever threw, and I want you to have it," Huang said gently giving him the tile. Po held it gingerly.

"Huang, you mean it?" The goat nodded. "Thanks Huang. I...I don't know what to say."

"Your thanks is enough," Huang smiled as he yawned, "Well, I have to rest. Nice of you to drop by." With that he turned around and went to sleep. Po and Krista quietly went outside of the house. As they walked out, Krista noticed that Po had a frown on his face.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"He's dying," Po muttered sadly. This shocked Krista to a standstill.

"What on earth makes you think that?"

"He gave me his most valuable heirloom. He would only do something like that if he knew he...wasn't going to make it," Po said. Krista didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," Krista replied solemnly. Po smiled a bit.

"So on a different note, am I like Ling the Lion?" Po asked wondering. Krista smirked.

"You're just like him. Clumsy, hungry, and kind," Krista replied.

"Hey!" Po said offended. Krista smiled bigger. As they got to the shop, Tigress was mysteriously behind a large scroll. "Um...Tigress?"

"Oh, hello Po," Tigress said just glancing over the top of the scroll. Krista and Po looked at each other in confusion.

"What are you reading?" Krista asked. Tigress lowered the scroll to reveal her bright smirk. Po learned never to trust that look.

"Oh just a little something that Master Oogway wrote about. Interestingly, it's about pandas," She said cheekily, "It says there's a spot on the left inner thigh that makes them-"

"OKAY!" Po shouted snatching the scroll from her. He quickly threw it away in the basement. "That's something I don't need you learning." Po scorned. Tigress smiled wickedly.

"Well, I'll be going now," Krista said deciding it would be best not to get involved. Po glared at Tigress.

"Why would Oogway write something like that?" Po asked incredulously. Tigress laughed out openly.

"I don't know, but it was there," Tigress said, "So how's Huang?" Po's face fell.

"He's...not doing good. We can just hope that he'll feel better," Po fibbed a bit, but Tigress didn't notice.

"I'm sorry," Tigress said remorsefully.

"It's okay. I'll manage," Po said. "So how was the cave?"

"It was interesting. It would have been a lot better with you," Tigress said honestly, "However, there is something that I asked Master Shifu that confused me a bit." Po looked at her with an intrigued face. "I asked him about the situation with the masters and us and why we weren't exchanged out with some other place. He said it would be answered in time."

"Why? Did no one need us to protect them?"

"No, and that's what makes it all the more confusing," Tigress replied.

"Let's run through this. The Exchange Masters Program says that masters from one area would switch with masters of another area. We do this four weeks in a year and only four in a year. It's up to the Great Masters to decide how the weeks would line up. This year they're all in the same month. This is done to prevent the Shen incident from happening again. Now, the masters of one area can stay with the masters of another area and live together. Those are the basics," Po explained to clarify.

"But?"

"But we don't understand why we have to stay outside of the Jade Palace and live among the villagers. We don't mind, but still. That and why can't we train with the masters but we can still protect the village from bandits. Those are the questions we have. Man, this is a lot to think of," Po said rubbing his head. Tigress stood up and came closer to Po, really close. She smirked almost seductively as she said.

"So Po, is that thing about the left inner thigh true?" She smiled wickedly. Po's face fell and became emotionless.

"Good night Tigress," Po said sternly. Tigress laughed as she playfully tapped the tip of his nose with her finger.

"Goodnight Po," Tigress smiled as she ascended the steps. Po shook his head. He went underneath to the basement to look at scroll, and to his amazement, it was about pandas from Oogway. The problem was that he didn't know if it was true and it would be very embarrassing if Tigress did what the scroll said. Well, that wouldn't happen in normal situations. The two would have to be...Po shook his head. Now was not time to think about such things. Po sighed.

"It's going to be a long week," Po muttered.

 **to be continued.**


	19. Day 19

Day 19: Thursday

* * *

Lu and Viper stared at Tigress with unbelieving faces. What she had asked of them was...remarkable. Tigress, Lu, and Viper were inside the Jade Palace in Lu's room, which was previously Viper's room. Tigress could understand why they were so shocked. It wasn't very likely that she would ever make this request, but she was trying to think ahead. Or so she claimed. Viper finally spoke, "So let us get this straight."

"You want us to help you try on some clothes just because, right?" Lu tagged along.

"And you don't have a date or anything. You just want to try on something that would be acceptable in today's fashion," Viper finished. Tigress huffed.

"I understand you're confused, but I just want to see what's...good nowadays," Tigress fibbed. Viper and Lu looked at each other. "I understand that you don't believe-"

"Let's get started!" Lu shouted grabbing Tigress's arm.

"Oh no," Tigress muttered. Soon, the green serpent and the bird wrapped Tigress in long towels of different colored fabrics ranging from red to brown. She could hardly breath. Viper and Lu conversed about what would be the best robe. Viper snapped her tail in epiphany.

"I know exactly what she could wear." They took some bright red cloth; Lu wrapped a measuring tape around Tigress's body; and when they were finished, they quickly did some embroidering. It took a pretty long time. "We'll have to get the tailer to do the rest. It will be ready tomorrow," Viper explained, "Now you can tell us why in the world you want to do something that is completely not you." Tigress's nerves were racking up now. How do you explain doing something that you would hate?

"It's...just...something that I was...curious in," Tigress fibbed, but both the bird and the snake knew she was lying.

"Why would you be curious in something like this? Aren't you the one that always says that earthly luxuries are unnecessary in order to be a warrior?" Viper retorted. Tigress quickly came up with an excuse.

"I hear Master Shifu calling me. Tell me when the dress is ready or when you need me." Quickly, she ran out of there. Viper and Lu looked at each with knowing faces.

"She's in love. I can tell," Viper smiled. Lu chuckled. Meanwhile, Tigress walked around the palace actually looking for Master Shifu. He had some answers to her questions. As she walked to the Hall of Heroes, she heard some noise from outside. She walked around it to see Master Shifu looking through a telescope down at the village. As if this day couldn't get any weirder.

"Hmph, so Po's hanging out with the guys to get a gift for Jin. Hmm, interesting," Shifu mumbled as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Tigress came closer to the red panda. "A pair of shoes? Bad choice. They don't know what size she is. Oh they're moving on, smart move."

"Master Shifu?" Tigress said alarming the red panda.

"TIGRESS! What are you doing here?!" He exclaimed, scrambled around to hide all of his things.

"I was just with Master Lu and Master Viper and I was looking for you. What are you doing?" Tigress asked.

"I'm...just...making sure that the village is safe. Keeping an outlook," Shifu fibbed. Tigress made a deadpanned face.

"Really? It looks like you were spying on us," Tigress aggressively said. Shifu fiddled with his fingers. It was actually pretty unnerving to Tigress to see her master so nervous. Finally, Shifu huffed and started shooing Tigress away from him.

"I'll explain some other time. Right now you just have to trust me. Good day Master Tigress," Shifu said. With that, a surprised Tigress descended down the mountain steps all the way to the shop where the boys were.

"Hey Tigress, what's up?" Po greeted. Tigress was still too confused to completely answer normally.

"Nothing, I...I was just with Lu and Viper. How did the shopping for Jin go?" Tigress asked. Po, Crane, Mantis, and Monkey were shocked. Then Tigress remembered that they never told her that they were doing that.

"How did you know we were looking for that?" Po asked.

"I...saw you guys when I was going up the mountain," Tigress fibbed.

"Wow, you have very good eyesight, Tigress," Crane commented, "Well, we finally got the gift that Monkey wanted for her." Monkey held out a creatively designed necklace with shining copper, glowing zinc, and a bit silver encrusted into each bead.

"It's very nice," Tigress observed, "How much did it cost?"

"Just two month's work. I've been saving up the money for a time when I would be in a relationship," Monkey said blushing. Po's mouth gapped open.

"So you two are...dating?" Po asked. Monkey nodded. "Wow! I'm happy for you."

"We all are," Crane said resting his wing on Monkey's shoulder. Tigress quietly whispered to Po.

"I need to talk to you and Crane after Monkey and Mantis leave," She said. Po nodded. While Mantis, Monkey, and Tigress were talking, Po passed the word over to Crane. "So, what's the special occasion?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to give her something special," Monkey said, "Well, I have to go on a date. Wish me luck!"

"Wait for me. I need to go to my place as well," Mantis said hopping on Monkey's shoulder. When they exited the shop, Crane said.

"So what is it that you wanted to tell us that didn't involve Monkey and Mantis?" Crane asked.

"Because you two, more you than Po, are the most level-headed," Tigress explained. Crane looked at her with half-lidded eyes. "Okay, you're the most level-headed."

"Hey, I'm right here," Po butted in.

"Don't remind us," Crane muttered in a teasing tone. Po huffed insulted.

"Listen," Tigress shushed them both, "When I was up at the mountain, I saw Master Shifu looking through a telescope. He was watching you guys shop for Jin. Oh and he was right. Buying a shoe without the shoe size is stupid." Crane and Po looked at each other in amazement.

"He WAS spying on us!" They both said.

"Why?" Po asked.

"I don't know. It looked like he was taking notes too," Tigress added. Po and Crane pondered these things.

"Do you think it has to deal with the fact that he practically kicked us out of the Jade Palace?" Crane suggested. Po shrugged.

"All we know now is that Master Shifu is spying on us. Why? We have no clue." Po huffed out a bit of air. This was getting more and more confusing. "Why were you up on the mountain in the first place anyways?" Po asked. Tigress became nervous.

"Um...I was just hanging out with Lu and Viper," Tigress replied. This made Po come out of his trance and both him and Crane looked at her. "What?"

"You mean...you weren't with Krista?" Crane asked for clarification. Tigress nodded.

"Why is that so surprising?"

"Well...um...Ah..." Po and Crane were at a loss of words.

"You know what, forget about it. You were up on the mountain, that's it," Po finished. "Now, I need to visit a friend of mine really quick. Can you guys actually help my dad with the shop around here? It's been pretty busy." Crane and Tigress nodded. Po left the two there to clean and set the tables.

"So, anything about Po that you've learned?" Crane asked gathering a stack of used plates. Tigress remained silent for a while.

"Crane, I can't just tell Po's secrets to any and everybody. You know pretty much all his life. He doesn't keep a lot to himself and that I can tell you," Tigress explained. Crane just stood there leaning against the kitchen counter as Tigress brought some plates to the sink.

"You're lying," he said with a smile. Tigress sighed.

"And if I am, I am doing it so that my friend's privacy is secure," Tigress stated firmly. Crane backed off. It wasn't as firm as what she usually made it, but it was enough for Crane to take a hint.

"He's softening her," Crane said to himself. Just then, Lu came into the shop.

"Speaking of relationships," Tigress said smirking.

"Hush," Crane quieted, "Good evening, Master Lu. It is a pleasure to see you in our humble shop." He said this bowing gracefully.

"Our?" Mr. Ping said from the kitchen. Tigress rolled her eyes as Lu giggled.

"I'm doing very well, Master Crane," Lu laughed in the same manner, "I actually wanted to talk to Master Tigress." With that, Crane bowed again and left the two to speak. Tigress shook his head.

"What you see in him, I will never understand," Tigress sighed. Lu smiled.

"He's just having fun. Now to you. We're going to need you to try on the dress tomorrow. Are you okay with that?" Tigress nodded. "Good! And um...do you want the others to know about th-"

"NO!" Tigress stated quickly.

"Okay okay. Just making sure. Viper said that you would be touchy about something like this," Lu replied. Tigress sighed as the female crane began talking to Crane.

 **to be continued.**


	20. Day 20

Day 20: Friday

* * *

"Are you sure that you won't get in trouble?" Mr. Ping asked. Po rolled his eyes.

"Dad, I'll be fine. I'm just going to take a walk. Just tell Tigress where I am, okay?" Po asked. Mr. Ping nodded as Po went off into the woods. About a few minutes later, Tigress rose up in a rather bright mood, for her anyway.

"Hello, Mr. Ping, where is Po?" She asked. Mr. Ping had a smile on his face but his back was towards her so she couldn't see it.

"Oh, he went out for a walk. He wanted to go alone this time and told me to tell you. Don't know why. Anyways, your breakfast is on the table," Mr. Ping replied. Tigress was a little disappointed.

"Oh, okay," She said a bit dejected. She sat down to her breakfast, not really interested in it. Then she remembered that Viper and Lu were putting the finishing touches on the dress. "Better make sure that they don't sow on anything stupid," Tigress told herself as she quickly ate her food.

Meanwhile, Po was walking around the forest not having a care in the world. He didn't know why he was doing this. He was just looking around and seeing the solitude of the woods. With all the craziness happening in the village, it was good to take a step back and look around nature. Also, Po had a strange feeling he would find something in the woods. Po started coming towards a thick wall of tall grass, and as he moved through it, he found something very peculiar staring back at him. It had a circle of dark tan hair around its head. It had a short muzzle like him only it had whiskers and lines that would crease like Tigress's snarling. Its brown nose matched its brown pants, and a big bare well defined chest lined its abdomen. It was a lion.

However, as Po turned his head, the lion did the same. As Po scratched his head, the lion did the same. Po started dancing like a monkey and the lion did the same. Then Po did something he usually doesn't do. He firmly brought his fist to his chest to make a 'thud' sound. The lion didn't do that. "Okay, so you're not a weird mirror," Po said.

"Ah, of course not," the lion replied as if it were a dumb question, "Are you from around here?"

"Yeah, I come from the Valley of Peace," Po answered. The lion's eyes widened.

"Really? That's where I'm going! Can you show me the way? I...was tricked by a local merchant who gave me the wrong directions," The lion said looking away nervously. Po could recognize that look.

"You got distracted and got lost, didn't you?" Po corrected.

"No!" the lion protested. Po lifted his eyebrow. "Yes," He confessed lowly. Po shook his head.

"Come on, I'll show you the way to it," Po said in a upbeat voice. The two went back to the village. Obviously, the villagers had never seen a lion before for they stared the lion down like a hawk. "Don't worry about them. This is there first time seeing a lion."

"It's okay really. I'm use to it," the lion said, "So where are we going?"

"We're going to a place where we can get some food," Po replied entering his father's shop. "By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Ling," He said as he shook the panda's hand. Po's mouth dropped open. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. My name is Po," Po recovered. "Here, let me get some noodles prepared." He went into the kitchen, grabbed two bowls of noodles, and served them to Ling. Ling offered to pay, but Po wouldn't allow it. "You're a guest here, Ling. I'll pay my father later."

"Wow, thanks," Ling said thankfully. He gulped the whole entire bowl down in one try. Po sat back in amazement. Ling finished, wiping away some leftover noodles. "Ah, so...you wouldn't happen to have more would you?" Ling said presenting his empty bowl. Po just sat there with his mouth open.

"Dad, can you make that Dragon Warrior size dumpling? Two please?" Po called. "You're going have to pay for that one." the shop wasn't that full.

"Aw," Ling whined.

"So this is how I act? I don't even notice it," Po muttered to himself. He said out loud, "Well, Ling, I must ask why you've come to our little village?" Ling's smile slowly turned into a frown.

"Well, back home I decided to take a trip around the country of China. So I left about three months ago. My father died there and...there wasn't much to hold on to. So I left," Ling sadly explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Po apologized.

"It's okay. The only thing I regret is that I left a friend of mine there. I never got to tell her...Ah never mind. I'm rambling again!" Ling dismissed, but Po took notice. "So what's your story?"

"Well, I work and live here. This is the place I grew up in. I have a good group of friends, and there's one person in particular that I think you'll like very much," Po said with a wicked smile. Ling recognized that smile.

"I'm not interested in something like that," Ling laughed.

"Oh I think you will be," Po smiled. Just then Krista came in.

"Po, Master Shifu suggested I come here and-" She stopped short when she and Ling's eyes met. Po couldn't see the unseen rush of connection, recollection, and emotions going through both Ling and Krista's head. Ling stood up and his eyes widened.

"Hello, Master Krista, I would like you to meet Master Ling," Po smirked, but they hardly heard him. Ling remembered where he was and composed himself. Po guessed that, like Tigress, Krista wasn't big on emotions to many people. Ling bowed respectfully trying to contain his emotional excitement.

"It is good to see you again, Master Krista," He said with his voice trembling a bit. He was nervous. He stood back up to see Krista just standing there again. Krista quickly hugged him tightly. Ling was a bit taller than Po, so Krista buried her face in the crock of Ling's neck. Soon, Ling could feel something wet on his shoulder.

"I've missed you so much," She said as a tear fell. Ling pushed her back just enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. Usually Krista would have hated that someone brought her to tears, but Ling was the exception.

"I'm sorry that I've been away. But I'm so glad that I came here," Ling smiled.

"I missed you," Krista said. Her face became stern, "But don't ever leave like that again!" Ling smiled nervously. Krista smiled widely as she hugged him again. The people who were in the shop all started clapping, making the two blush brightly. They pulled away embarrassed and nervously smiling. Po lifted his hand and made a thumbs up as if signaling someone from a high place or a certain high mountain. Krista looked at Po.

"How did you find him?" Krista asked. Po shrugged.

"I just had a feeling that I needed to be in the woods and I found him," He replied. "Well, now we have two twin pairs." Ling was confused.

"He means there's another person that acts like me," Krista said rolling her eyes, "And he acts like you." Soon, the Dragon Warrior size dumplings came out of the kitchen as placed on the table. Ling quickly went to work as did Po. In about five seconds, they were both done.

"He has an appetite like mine, I agree," Ling slightly burped out, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Krista shook her head. "So where's this other Krista?" Just as he said that, Tigress entered the shop with a large wooden box. Her eyes kept darting around to see if anyone she knew was looking. She slowly made her way to the stairs when she was stopped by Po.

"Um...Tigress, what's in the box?" He asked.

"NOTHING!" she shouted, "It's nothing," she ended in a catlike hiss. She quickly went up the stairs and shut the door. Ling, Po, and Krista looked at each other befuddled.

"O...kay," Krista stuttered out.

"Just act like that didn't happen. I'm sure we'll figure out what's in the box sooner or later," Po said brushing the incident aside.

"So is that your girlfriend," Ling asked honestly.

"She is not my girlfriend," Po clarified. "She's just a friend that's staying in my house for a few weeks." Ling and Krista looked at each with an unbelieving look. "Really! Honest!"

"Well, Ling and I have to catch up on life. He'll stay in the palace, right Ling." Krista didn't really leave room for argument.

"Sssure," Ling answered unsure.

"Good," Krista said, grabbing Ling by the arm. "We'll see you around Po." They exited the shop and went up the mountain. Po looked towards the mountain with a smirk. He knew in his mind that Shifu was watching them. That explains why Krista came down the mountain in time. Then Po thought of something else. A wicked smile crossed his face as he went to Tigress's room. Knocking on the door, Po heard a scuffling sound.

"Come in," Tigress said. Her voice sounded hesitant. As Po came in, he saw Tigress standing very erect. Her eyes suggested that she had just hidden something. Po smiled.

"I won't even ask about the box. That's your personal business," Po declared. Tigress seemed to relax a lot, huffing into a slouched position. "But um...I was over Ru's the other day," He said with an evil smile. Tigress knew that smile well. She started to back away.

"Oh? And what did you talk about," Tigress asked. Po came just a bit closer.

"Well, he told me something interesting about female tigers," Po said becoming a bit nervous. Tigress's eyes widened as her fur paled. "He said that if you tug on the tail when they are excited, it makes them-"

"OKAY!" Tigress interrupted, "Okay, I got it! This is revenge for what I did. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Just one question. Is it true," Po asked with a smirk. Tigress looked at him with a grim face. She started pushing him out of her room.

"Goodnight Po," She said.

"But it's only noon," Po replied trying to remain innocent.

"Well...good noon," She recovered finally pushing him out the room. She could hear him chuckling. Ru had been to a tiger village before, so he knew a few things about Tigress. That didn't make it fair that he told Po, though. She had had the upper hand until now. It didn't matter, though. Unless they became any closer, those secrets about themselves would be useless. Tigress's mouth slipped into an embarrassed smile. So they both knew something that would bring them to their knees. Tigress shook her head. Something like that wasn't good to think of for a long time. She looked underneath her bed where she hid the box. Maybe that situation would become a reality. "Maybe," She said to herself.

 **to be continued.**


	21. Day 21

Day 21: Saturday

* * *

Tigress woke up a little earlier than she had planned. She knew Po and Mr. Ping would still be sleeping around this time. She took the box that had the dress. She took it out, put the dress on, and stood in front of the mirror. The dress was bright red with a golden embroidered Dragon on the front. It stretched all the way to her feet spreading out, and it had a golden rim on the bottom; it didn't touch the ground because it was 6 inches from the ground. It was held up by two straps on her shoulders, red too, that formed a V to the chest area. Tigress turned around. On the back, the dress had a gold and red Yin-yang sign, red for yin and gold for yang. "Wow," Tigress said with enchantment. "It really is amazing. Those two really did a great job." As she took off the dress and put it back in the box, she couldn't help but wonder if she looked beautiful in it. She had never been told she was beautiful, but she knew enough from Viper what it meant. Just then, she heard a knock on the door.

"Tigress, are you up?" Po asked from the other side. Tigress quickly stuffed the box in a new place, above the dresser.

"Yes, Po, come in," Tigress said. As Po entered, Tigress sat on her bed as if nothing had happened. Po nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Look um...sorry about yesterday. I was just trying to have some fun with you," Po apologized.

"It's alright. Same here," Tigress said, "And to answer your question...I don't know. I've never been in that situation."

"Really? I mean you're so beautiful I would think that-" Po stopped right there as Tigress looked at him with wide eyes. Well, now she can't say no one has ever called her beautiful. "I mean...me too. I wouldn't know either." It understandable for Po's case. He was never really lucky when it came to women. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"I was actually going to ask you that question," Tigress replied. Po's smirk came back. "What are you thinking about Po?"

"Nothing," Po replied still having his smirk. He sat down next to Tigress. "I was thinking that maybe we could look at that book you stole from the library."

"Huh," Tigress stuttered, "What? I don't know what you're talking about." She didn't trust her eyes to look at Po.

"Oh come on Tigress. You honestly thought I didn't see you take it? And I know it's my book," Po said knowingly. Seeing that she couldn't lie to him, she sighed, reached underneath her bed, and took out the book.

"I...I took it because I thought you would want to know more about your parents. I'm sorry for not telling you," Tigress said hanging her face. Po lifted her chin up with his hand.

"It's fine. Secretly, I wanted to know to but I didn't think it was that important," Po shrugged. "Now, let's see what and who I am."

 _Xiao Po Tai-Lung Ping, also known as the Dragon Warrior, son of Dai and Suki. Po's father, who is still alive, oversees the hidden panda village in the high mountains. The village was under attack by Lord Shen, who murdered Po's Mother. Po was put into a radish crate where the transporter took the crate to Mr. Ping, a noodle shop maker. Friends with Jin, Lin, and Huang and is a skilled archer. It was until Master Oogway chose him to be the Dragon Warrior._

"So far nothing major," Po shrugged.

"Well, you never actually told me how you came here. You really came from a radish basket," Tigress asked. Po nodded. "Then why do you not like radish?"

"I have my reasons," Po said remembering the dream he had back at the Shen event. Tigress closed the book. "You don't want to look at anything else?"

"I'm pretty sure I know more than many people know about you. Plus, I always got you," Tigress replied. Po's face fell.

"You read it before, haven't you?" Tigress smirked with an evil glint in her eye.

"Maybe," Tigress said, making Po unsure if she did or didn't. "The point is that you know something about yourself." Po and Tigress stood back up.

"Thanks Tigress," Po said. "I really needed that info." As he walked to the door, something swam into his mind. Tigress saw that by the corner of his mouth he was thinking about something. His eyebrows furrowed into a worried position, and he kept looking at the ceiling like it would cave in or something. "Tigress, there's a question I want to ask you," Po said nervously. Tigress raised an eyebrow. "Well-"

"PO!" Called a voice from below,"Can you come down here for a moment?" Po and Tigress knew that call. It was from Crane. Po winced. Bad timing. But Tigress didn't seem like she wanted him to go.

"He'll be there in a minute," Tigress called back. "What is it?"

"Well, now that we're a bit more comfortable around each other, I wanted to know the question I asked you earlier," Po replied twiddling his thumbs.

"Which was," Tigress asked, not really liking where this was going.

"What do you see me as," Po asked. Tigress had a feeling that was the question.

"Po! Tigress!" Crane called.

"Ask me again some other time, okay," Tigress said. Po nodded. When they descended the steps, they saw Crane seemed extremely nervous. It looked like a pin could make him jump.

"What's up," Po asked. Crane looked at the ground.

"Um...I was wondering, if it's okay with Mr. Ping, that...maybe if you could...ah...reserve a table for me," Crane asked. Po and Tigress looked at each other with confused faces.

"Okay," Po said slowly, "For one or two?"

"No not now. Later," Crane explained, "I...I want to ask Lu on...a date." Po fell to the floor as Tigress's eyes widened. Tigress picked up Po but his face was still in shock.

"You're going to ask her on a date?!" Po exclaimed.

"Shhh," Crane hushed, clamping down his feathered wings on the panda's mouth. Unfortunately, the feathers tickled his nose, causing Po to sneeze on Crane. Crane flinched and brought his wings back to him, rubbing them off. "Yes, I'm asking her on a date."

"You mean you haven't told her yet," Tigress asked. Crane shook his head.

"Well, what are you doing down here then," Po cried out, "Let's get you to that mountain!" Before poor Crane could say anything, Po grabbed his wing and ran up the stairs with Tigress right after him. Quickly, quicker than Crane wanted, Po and Crane were inside the Training Hall where Lu was watching Krista and Gorilla train with Tigress trailing along. "Hello, Master Lu," Po announced, "Mr. Crane has something to tell you." Po shoved him in front like a stick in the fire. Lu could see that he was nervous. She felt pity on him.

"Dragon Warrior, Master Tigress, Gorilla, and Krista, could you guys give us a minute in private. I'm pretty sure that Master Crane is already worried about this 'something'," Lu said. Po pouted but complied as he, Tigress, Gorilla, and Krista left the training hall. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"It doesn't make it any easier that you got rid of the others," Crane sighed. Lu place her wing on Crane's heart, making it beat faster. Lu's own was speeding up too.

"Just say it," She soothed. Crane mustered up the legendary confidence that Po blabbered on about.

"Lu, will you go on a date with me?" Lu stepped back in shock. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and her heart beat rapidly. All of Crane's blood seemed to stop. It was like that split moment when you stop blushing to your love, confess, and wait for the answer. Everything seems frozen.

"Yes," Lu said a little unsure of what was coming out of her mouth.

"You...you mean it," Crane asked.

"Yes, I'll go on a date with you," she replied giggling out of excitement. Crane leapt into the air and started flying in big lazy loops and circles. He was happy, obliviously. As he came down, he kissed Lu, who was surprised out of her mind. He leapt back.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-" He was stopped when Lu kissed him back, wrapping her wings around his neck. As she pulled away, Crane had a goofy grin on his face that made Lu giggle again.

"So, when's the date," She asked.

"Today, if that's okay with you," Crane replied nervously. Lu chuckled.

"Today's okay with me," She smiled, "And...I know that we've just met and everything, and this is our first date but I've come to the realization that-"

"I love you, too," Crane finished. Lu's eyes widened. She smiled widely as she kissed him again. That night, they had a wonderful dinner at Mr. Ping's, granted that Po ate all their food while they were talking. Po had completely redecorated the place with single sweet candles, red table clothes, pretty bright pink flowers in every vase, and red lanterns on strings making up the romantic atmosphere. Everyone was surprised how Po could really put his heart into interior decorating. It was wonderful.

 **to be continued.**


	22. Day 22

Day 22: Sunday

 **Ya'll are going to hate me for this one :(**

* * *

A happy evening led to an unhappy tomorrow. Tigress was sitting in her bed looking at the floor. She couldn't get out off it after hearing the news. Krista had come down early to get her to go to Ru's, but she decided to not disturb her and go herself. When she got there, she saw a crowd of people wailing and crying. When she looked inside, there laid Ru on his deathbed, motionless and silent. He had died in his sleep. The people carried him out on his death bed and took him to be prepared for burial. Krista ran back to the village to find Tigress. She rushed up stairs and started pounding on the door. Tigress opened it to see what the matter was. "Ru...has died," Krista said sadly. Tigress's eyes widened. She went back to her bed and sat there. Krista asked if she needed help, but Tigress denied it. So now here she was. Alone in her room with the news that her friend had died. Tigress looked underneath her pillow. She took out a writing feather. The last time she went over to Ru's, he gave his writing pen to her. This pen had written all of the Reborn Poet's poems. Tigress clutched it in her hand tightly. She sighed, trying not to cry. This was the man that she went to seek for comfort when Shifu wasn't available. This was her friend. Now, he was gone.

Then Tigress heard some talking from down stairs. She looked at the sun's position. It was about past time for the breakfast rush, so why isn't there more noise? It was quite silent. She got up from her bed, writing feather in hand, and descended quietly down the steps. As she got down, she could see Mr. Ping had finished talking to Po about something. Po shook his head. Mr. Ping nodded and went out of the shop. Tigress looked around. No one was in the shop. Was it a holiday? And where was Mr. Ping going? Tigress stepped to where she could see Po's face. He looked sad, which was a characteristic of Po that Tigress never wanted to see. Po was looking at something in his hand. Tigress looked at it, too. It was the Mahjong tile that Huang gave him. Tigress's eyes were sympathetic and she gasped quietly. Huang had died too. The illness must have taken him. Mr. Ping must have gone to the funeral, which is why he was wearing black and why the shop was closed.

Po looked at Tigress. He spotted the writing feather and instantly knew who it was from. Po looked at her with sad shock as his mouth dropped open slightly. Tigress nodded with a frown. They both looked at the ground. Tigress went back up stairs to her room. She sat down in her room, listening to the music outside. Jung had heard about the funeral and was playing some sad music, appropriate for today. How could the sun shine so brightly on a day like this, Tigress thought. How could the sky be clear and so blue on a day like this? How could the children outside laugh on a day like this? How could Po come into my room on a day like this. Tigress paused at that thought when she realized that Po _was_ in her room.

Tigress had her angry scowl on. Po sighed. He knew she wasn't big on showing her weak side, but she needed a shoulder and Po knew that. He sat beside her. Tigress's scowl didn't falter at the floor. Po threw his arm around her shoulders. Tigress looked at him with an angry look, but all she saw was an understanding smile. Tigress broke. She threw her arms around Po in a hug and rested her head on his shoulder. Needless to say, Po was shocked, but he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. Then he felt something wet on his shoulder. Tigress was crying. Po pulled her out to wipe the tears away from her eyes. "I'm sorry," Po practically whispered in a caring voice. Tigress hugged him back.

"Me too," She replied. He was hurting too. She had no right to ignore his feelings as well. Po tightened his grip on her, remembering Huang's death. Then Tigress realized something. Po wasn't what she thought he was to her. Po wasn't just a partner. He wasn't just a friend or even a best friend. Po was more than a brother. Tigress blushed just thinking about it. As she released Po, she smiled, letting Po know that she was okay. He smiled too. "Thank you, Po," She said.

"Thank you, too," Po replied. That was something else that Tigress didn't understand. She could never repay Po the kind or comfort he gave yet, to him, she could do it easily. Tigress smiled. He definitely more than a brother to her. "So, what now," He asked.

"I don't know," Tigress said with blank face, "Why don't we just eat at the Abandoned Place. My treat." Po's eyebrow rose up.

"Okay, but if you poison me again, I'm calling the guards," Po joked. Tigress laughed. Strangely, it sounded from outside that Jung was playing happy music now. The type that gets you out of bed and makes you friendly with everyone. So the two went to the Abandoned Place where Po taught Tigress how to cook...better. They sat down to a wonderfully cooked bamboo-sweet bread. This made Po wonder. "Tigress why do you make everything with bamboo in it?"

"I don't. I just do it with you," Tigress replied, looking at the floor, "It was something else Huang taught me about you." She expected Po to be sad, but he smiled.

"Thanks. I really like it," Po said, eating the food, "So, you've cooked for other people?"

"Not really. I had to cook for Ru when he was sick," Tigress said sadly. Po reached across the table and gently gave a reassuring squeeze to her hand. Tigress gave a small smile. "Thank you, Po. For everything."

"I'm just trying to help a friend," Po replied. With that, they continued to eat.

 **to be continued.**


	23. Day 23

Day 23: Monday

 **Prepare for some happy** **cliché**

* * *

Tigress rose up in the morning. She went down stairs to see Po and Ling the Lion talking and laughing at a table. As she was about to talk to them, Lu, Viper, and Krista came in. "Hey guys, whatcha' doin'?" Lu asked.

"Huh, that sounds cliche for some reason, and familiar," Tigress mumbled to herself.

"Hey guys, Ling and I were just talking about the time I faced Ke-Pa, the deadly leader demon," Po explained dramatically. Tigress rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"You ran away, then nearly got killed, then nearly got eaten," Tigress added. Po's pride came crashing down as the others laughed. He glared at Tigress.

"You can't let me have fun, can you," Po asked. Tigress shook her head.

"So what's the plan for today," Ling asked. Po thought about it for a while.

"I don't know," He replied unsure, "Things have been a little stale around here. Did you guys have something in mind?" Suddenly, Viper's face lit up.

"Guys, I know what we're going to do today," She said.

"Again, familiar, and again, cliche," Tigress murmured.

"We're going to have a girls' day out," Viper said excitedly. Lu, Po, and Ling cheered too, but Krista and Tigress remained like stones.

"I'm not sure I-"

"Come on, Krista," Ling coaxed, "It's not going to kill you."

"You don't know that," Tigress added.

"Look, you have nothing better to do other than train, and I'm pretty sure that Master Shifu has ban you _both_ from the Training Hall," Po put in. "It would be good for you two to get out the of village for a while." Tigress pondered this for a moment.

"Okay," Tigress said, "How about we have a dine-in?"

"Are you sure you want to have it here," Ling asked.

"Actually, I was thinking of using the Abandoned Place," Tigress suggested to Po. Po's eyes widened a bit. "If that's okay with you, Po." Po was silent for a while then said.

"Sure. You can use it for today. I said I had no secrets." Tigress gave him a quick smile before exiting the place. "What are you going to do there," Po asked.

"We're just going to talk and have some food; my treat," Tigress explained. Viper was frightened.

"Are you sure you want to do that," Viper asked, hoping she wouldn't. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I've gotten better." That wasn't much reconciliation for the serpent but the four went to the house anyway.

"So what's this Abandoned Place you were talking about? And why is it that only you and Po know about it," Lu asked, hinting suspicion that Tigress didn't pick up on.

"Po and I used it so he could teach me to cook better. Now my cooking doesn't taste like-"

"Don't bring it up," Viper interrupted, feeling a little queasy, "The memory alone makes me want to barf again." Tigress scowled at the ground.

"Okay, okay, I get it. It was bad," Tigress said.

"And how was learning from Po like," Krista asked. She didn't know much about the panda, so him being a teacher must have been interesting.

"He was...unusual, but I've come to expect that from Po. He made me cook my bad food and made me eat it," Tigress replied. Viper squirmed at the thought.

"He made you eat that stuff?! The horror," She shivered dramatically. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"But in the end," She continued, "He helped me prepare better food."

"That must have been interesting," Lu said; her smugness was now apparent. Tigress just blushed not looking at her.

"Yes, yes it was," she simply replied. "Huh, even that sounds familiar and cliche." Soon they came to the Abandoned Place, and Tigress began to make the food. The stove and the kitchen were facing away from the table that was set.

"So I must ask Master Tigress and Master Viper," Lu started. "What is the panda's story?" Viper looked at Tigress waiting for her to look at them. Tigress briefly looked at the snake before continuing cooking.

"Viper can explain it better," Tigress said, deputizing an unwilling Viper. Viper hissed lowly then began to speak.

"Well, in a nutshell, Po is an adopted panda that came from who knows where and was found by Mr. Ping. He grew up in Mr. Ping's awful family. I say awful because now we know what kind of people they are. He was very enthusiastic about Kung Fu from an early age. How he became Dragon Warrior is interesting. The prophecy says he would come from the heavens in a ball of fire. Well, it turns out that Po used fireworks, strapped them to a chair, and flew high in the sky and landed in a ball of fire," Viper began to laugh at the memory. Tigress had a smile on, too, though the others couldn't see it. "When he got up, Master Oogway was pointing at him. We thought it was an accident, but Master Oogway said, 'There are no accidents.'. I will be honest; we weren't that kind to Po. I guess we were sore from not becoming Dragon Warrior. Master Shifu wanted him out, too. Po seemed to know nothing about Kung Fu and how to fight. That all changed when a certain feline went out to face the most dangerous criminal in China, and we had to go with her." Viper looked directly at Tigress. Tigress waved her spatula around in the air.

"It was stupid, okay? I learned my lesson," Tigress grumbled. Viper continued on.

"When we came back defeated, Shifu had already figured out how to train Po. It was time to open the Dragon scroll to receive his 'unlimited power'," Viper rolled her eyes. "The thing was blank. Nothing but a pretty gold paper." Lu and Krista were shocked. "So with our hopes dashed we had to evacuate everyone. It was then that Tai-Lung was fighting Master Shifu. Then Po came in and they started to fight. It ended with Po using the Wuxi Finger hold on Tai-Lung. All we saw was a golden wave spread out. Po had done it."

"Wow," Krista marveled, "Amazing for someone so young." Tigress chuckled a bit, but Krista heard it. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. It's just that Po isn't as young as you think," Tigress said.

"How young," Viper asked.

"He's thirty," Tigress replied calmly. Krista's eyes widened, Viper's mouth was wide open, and Lu's beak made that sound that Crane's beak made when ever he dropped his mouth. 'Creeek!' Tigress turned around and smirked at their faces. It was hard not to laugh.

"What? He's older than you," Viper asked in amazement. "But the way he acts, I thought he was about 20 or 19!" Tigress shrugged.

"I was as surprised as you when I asked."

"So how did you get this information, Tigress," Lu asked with a smirk. Tigress looked at her grimily but said.

"I just asked. We don't know Po very well because we don't ask him questions like that," Tigress explained. Viper had to agree. Po never really explain much about himself. That's why almost everything he did was a surprise to them. Except getting them into trouble.

"Did you learn anything else," Lu questioned. Tigress turned back to her cooking. She couldn't face Lu with something on the fire.

"Nothing that you can't ask him yourself. I would feel like a traitor if I told you stuff about Po and he wasn't here. I don't like talking about him behind his back," Tigress said ending that part of the conversation. Finally, she was finished with the food. "Here you go. Fried dumplings, noodles, seasoned rice, and cooked vegetables. Enjoy." While Lu and Krista ate the food willingly, Viper was still cautious about the food. When she finally tasted it, her eyes nearly bugged out.

"Tigress, this food tastes amazing! Po really did help you with your cooking," Viper said shocked, now gulping the food down. Tigress rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"What do you guys do here when not cooking," Krista asked.

"Well, mostly we clean up the place so it's always presentable. Sometimes we talk, and some times we just come here to get away from the breakfast, lunch, and dinner rush," Tigress explained cleaning up the kitchen.

"So you guys spend a lot of time alone," Viper questioned with a smirk.

"Not like that," Tigress countered. "We just talk."

"Mmmhmm," Krista, Lu, and Viper said with a knowing smile.

"We do," Tigress protested. "So Krista, how is it between you and Ling?" Krista blushed as Viper and Lu looked at her intently.

"We've got up on the times. Unlike Po, Ling had the good life. His father was a successful doctor, but Ling wanted to protect people rather than heal them. So he came to the temple I trained at and started training. Like Po, he didn't get it at first, and I will admit that I was mean to him at first. But soon he was a warrior to be reckoned with. He really is a caring person," Krista said happily, daydreaming a bit. She blushed when the others laughed at her reaction.

As they talked and talked, the group was beginning to see a side of Tigress that she never really showed. It wasn't what Po got to see but it was more open and less hostile. When they were done and the sun began to set, they left the Abandoned Place and went back to the shop. There they saw Temuti being hauled away by some Qi-don warriors. Ling was leaning on Po's shoulder by the arm, and Po had his arms crossed. Both had a confident smile on.

"Curse you warriors of the Jade Palace," Temuti shouted.

"Again, familiar," Tigress mumbled to herself, "What in world is happening today?" But she dismissed it.

"Hey, girls," Po greeted. "You just missed us beating Temuti. And man, was Ling awesome."

"Are you kidding? The way you jumped into the air and made a shockwave when you came down on him was amazing," Ling exclaimed. Krista rolled her eyes.

"Boys," She muttered to the girls. They all just laughed.

 **To be continued.**


	24. Day 24

Day 24: Tuesday

* * *

Crane woke up from a froggy state; the one where you temporarily don't know where you are when you wake up. He looked around his dark brown room with a wooden door at the front. His feathers had started to get darker and darker and not because of the hot sun. It was from all the ashes from the nearby fire. He could smell the molten smoke from where he was. Crane was staying in Mr. Kia's metal shop. It was hard work when he needed him, but it did pay off both financially and physically. Crane's skinny legs were stronger than ever before, and his wings could lift twice his weight now. Crane slugged over to Monkey, who was sleeping with a smile. Crane rolled his eyes. Another great date with Jin, he thought; must be dreaming about it now. Crane went down stairs to help Mr. Kia with the new order of metal spears. The little pig appreciated the bird and monkey's help. "Mr. Kia," Crane called. Kia stopped what he was doing and looked to the bird.

"Ah Crane, you be wanten' to help me," Mr. Kia asked with an accent. Crane never knew what that accent actually came from. Crane nodded. "Well, yoo don' need ta fret. That blagard orrrder was cancel. Yoo bes be off an have sum fun wit ta little ladie friend." Crane blushed from the embarrassment.

"Thank you, Mr. Kia. Can you tell Monkey I'll be at Mr. Ping's shop if he needs me," Crane asked.

"Yah I'll be watchin'. Yoo go off new, you kooky birrd," Mr. Kia laughed. With a smile on his face, Crane was off to see Po and Tigress. When he got there, Crane could see Po and Tigress were setting the tables for the breakfast rush; he came in when they were finishing up.

"Well, I guess I can't help you with the tables," Crane said, coming into the shop. Po smiled as he greeted him. There were subtle differences that Crane noticed in Po, too. Personality-wise, he talked less, smiled more, and didn't geek out over Kung Fu stuff. Physically, he seemed to be a bit thinner and less rounded in the cheeks. That was surprising since they didn't train anymore. Tigress had some changes too. She was much more open, from what Lu told him, and she seemed to smile more, even though it was for a fleeting moment. Po's food seemed to be thickening her, in a good way! She was, by far, not fat, but she wasn't a walking stick that rarely ate anything. Her womanly curves started to fill in more and the food only seem to make the curves more defined and smooth. She still had plenty of muscles but they were more hidden. Because of all these changes, more and more people started to see that Tigress was a woman. Of course, these physical changes weren't noticed by Crane when he walked in. They were, however, noticed by Po a long time ago, which made talking to her a lot more difficult. It was interesting what a month would do, but they still had six more days to go before they would move back to the Jade Palace.

Then Crane's smile turned into a frown. That meant that the warriors would be going away too. Which means that..."I have to go," Crane hurried, and ran out of the shop. Po and Tigress were confused.

"What was all that about," Tigress asked.

"I have no idea," Po shrugged, "I stopped trying to figure things out ever since you taught Jung how to play the violin." Tigress blushed a bit about that and didn't look at him. She remembered that day because the day after was when she and Po 'accidentally' kissed. Which reminded her.

"Um...Po," She started nervously, "I have to tell you something." She looked to the side but her body was facing Po's direction; he was in the middle of the shop while she was in the corner. "Do you remember when you asked me what you were to me?" Po rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah, but you don't have to answer it. It was a stupid question," Po said trying to steer the conversation in a less weird way.

"No, you and I know each other well enough for us to be open with each other," Tigress replied. She took a deep breath as she spoke slowly. "You're more than a partner to me. You're more than a friend to me and more than a brother to me. I...I just don't know what you are to me." Po's face spoke of shock and surprise. Tigress still didn't look at him until Po said.

"Thank you, Tigress. You're actually the same thing for me."

"How?"

"Well, I can't really explain. You've helped me through thick and thin, and even though you have a very very dangerous temper," Po smiled to a glaring Tigress, "You are a very caring and protective person." Tigress blushed and looked away.

"Thank you," Tigress replied. This was getting weird fast. "Um...since we're done here let's go find Crane and see where he went."

"Good idea," Po said. So they searched for Crane. It looked like he went up the Jade Palace mountain. They went up the mountain to see a worried Crane talking to a concerned Lu in the Palace Courtyard

"What are you worried about, Crane," Lu asked.

"Well, you know how it's only six more days until we switch back to our original places," Crane reminded. Lu nodded sadly. "I was wondering if you...were...going to stay here or...leave." Lu turned around, not facing them. She shook a bit and wiped her eye. Crane thought she was crying. She wasn't. Lu swung around with a big smile. She hugged Crane making him freeze.

"I'm staying." Crane relaxed and exhaled in relief. Lu looked up and kissed him on the...beak. Though Crane was surprised, he kissed back. It was a while before Po purposely coughed to separate them. They pulled away embarrassed and red as tomatoes. "How much did you-"

"Enough to know that you're staying," Po smiled. "We're glad that you'll be here. However, I wonder where you'll be living."

"Mr. Kia would be very grateful for some help around the shop," Crane offered. Lu brushed off his wings. She always had to do that with Crane since he worked at the metal shop. Lu continually grumbled about it, but Crane liked it because it got her close to him.

"I don't want have to brush off your wings and mine," Lu replied, "But I think I'll figure out where I'll be staying. Maybe here in the Jade Palace. There's plenty of room."

"So that's one," Tigress stated. "Now I have to ask Krista. She's the only other one that can stay here." Tigress went over to the Training Hall where she thought Krista would be. "Hmm. She's not here." Then she heard some laughing. It sounded like Krista's and was coming from the kitchen. When Tigress went into it, there were Ling and Krista laughing and having a good time. Tigress leaned on the doorpost until they realized they were not alone. When Krista saw her, she blushed.

"Tigress," She exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

"I was just wondering. Since we're going to be coming back here in a few days," She said smugly, still smirking at what was going on, "I was wondering if you were going to stay here." Krista looked over to Ling with an intensive face. She would only stay here unless Ling was staying here, and Ling would do the same for her. Krista stayed silent for a while.

"Where would I stay," Krista asked.

"I have a place outside of the valley that you could stay at," Ling said very quickly. The two blushed as Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Well, are you staying or not?" Krista looked at Ling again.

"I'm staying," Krista said.

"And I'm going," Ling stood up. Tigress and Krista gapped their mouths opened. "Nah, I'm kidding," Ling said laughing, "I'm staying." Krista punched Ling in the arm and then hugged him.

"Don't joke like that. I'm not losing you again," Krista said firmly as she hugged him tightly.

"So...I'll just be going now," Tigress said exiting room. She rejoined Po at the top of the steps. "It looks like our family is about to get a little bigger."

"Well, I've already talked with Master Gorilla, Ox, and Croc, and they aren't staying," Po said a bit sad, "But I understand." They walked over to the Training Hall for no apparent reason until Po said, "Hey Tigress. Do you...want to spar a bit?" Tigress stared at the panda with a discombobulated **(So that's what the word looks like:/)** look.

"YOU are asking ME to spar," Tigress asked.

"Well," Po replied, understanding her disbelief, "We haven't really been working out as much as the first week. Maybe we've gotten a bit rusty."

"By the way we handled the bandits and villains that the masters here couldn't get to, I'd say we're okay," Tigress said, stretching her arms. Po smirked.

"Oh? Is this the mighty Tigress afraid of going head to head with the Dragon Warrior? Is she backing down from a challenge," Po asked dramatically. Tigress poked her finger at his chest as she smiled competitively.

"You're on." They took their stances in the spar pit. Tigress lunged forward at Po with speed that he wasn't prepared for. The first kick to the face nearly knocked him out.

"Okay, so _you're_ not rusty," Po moaned. Tigress smiled wickedly as she used her tail to motion him to get up. Po leapt up and slammed down on the floor, causing a dust cloud. Tigress couldn't see as Po dashed quickly, striking her at the legs, arms, and stomach. Tigress blew away the dust with one sweep of her tail.

"Nice hiding tactic," She commented, "But that won't get you anywhere fast."

"I know, but this will," Po said smirking. He rolled into a ball and rushed towards Tigress. Tigress jumped but Po rolled back so quickly that she wasn't able to prevent him from rolling over her. Po bounced back up to his stance. Tigress struggled up. Po wasn't as heavy as he used to be, but that panda roll could do some considerable damage.

"Well, that's new," Tigress muttered. She rushed him, punching and kicking him with lightning fast speed. Po blocked and dodged every one. "You've gotten faster," Tigress said still punching.

"So have you," Po replied, catching one of her kicks and twirled her around. Tigress landed on her feet and back-flipped away from him. "But you holding back your speed and strength isn't going to get you anywhere." This surprised Tigress. So he knew she was holding back. Po rushed on the offensive. With one punch from Tigress, Po grabbed her hand, went behind her, caught the other hand, and held her in place. She was trapped. Tigress grunted as she tried to get out of Po's hold. "What? Where's all that strength you were holding back," Po teased, but Tigress was trying her best. Truth was Po had gotten stronger than Tigress. "Come on, I know you can break this hold," Po encouraged. Then Tigress thought of something. She bit the inside of her lips wondering if she should risk it.

"Oh what the heck," Was her last thought before she turned around in Po's grasp and kissed him. Po's eyes bugged out. He knew she was doing this to get out of the hold, but this only made Po hold her tighter. "Darn it," Tigress thought to herself. Then Po closed his eyes and started kissing back. "Oh no," Tigress thought. But that was her last thought before losing herself in the kiss. The warm caress of his lips were perfect for hers. The kiss was soft and warm and was revealing some hidden passion between the two. It wasn't until after the kiss that Tigress realized her hands had slipped out of Po's and were around his neck. Po still had a grip on her. His powerful arms were around her slim waist, preventing her from getting away. Not that she was trying. As they pulled away, they were panting for breath. Po swallowed before he spoke.

"Nice...try," He said a bit unsteady, "But I still have a hold on you."

"Well," Tigress said a bit giddy, "Nice to know that you can withstand those temptations." She was _really_ shaky. Po tried to hold her tighter to calm her down a bit and it did, but it didn't help the situation they were in. "So...um..."

"Let's just say I messed up and we were caught up in the moment," Po said releasing her. Tigress nodded. "You've gotten a lot better and stronger."

"So have you," Tigress replied. She was actually amazed at how strong Po had become. Tigress could break a wall and crush someone's bones. If Po could hold her so easily, then he was stronger than he actually realized. "Um...Po could I just say something?"

"Of course," Po replied.

"You...um...You're a very good kisser," She said blushing so much you could practically see her blush at night. Po was blushing, too.

"Um...thank you," He said nervously, "And for someone who says she's never been in a relationship, you're a really good kisser, too."

"Thank you," Tigress replied. They were quiet for a moment as they went down the mountain. "Can we act as if this never happened?"

"What happened?"

"Thanks," Tigress smiled.

"No seriously, what happened," Po said with a smirk. Tigress playfully pushed him away as they went down the stairs.

 **to be continued.**


	25. Day 25

Day 25: Wednesday

* * *

Po and Tigress were sparing again. Po caught Tigress in another hold. "You're not even trying," Po commented. Tigress smirked seductively.

"Maybe because I don't want to go away from you," She replied. Po smiled lovingly as she turned to face him in his embrace. She placed her hands around his neck as she smiled back at him. They slowly leaned closer and closer and-

"Tigress," Po called, "Are you up?" Tigress startled wake. She had dreamt up the whole thing. She huffed in disappointment and blushed.

"Yes, come in, Po," Tigress muttered in frustration.

"Sorry if I disturbed you," Po readily apologized as he entered.

"No, you're fine," Tigress replied. "So what's on the agenda today?"

"Well, I want to say nothing but today we are going to spy on Shifu," Po said with a wicked smile.

"Oh no," Tigress protested, "I know where this is going and I'm not going down that tunnel with you. Bye-bye." She brushed past Po and went down stairs. Po rushed after her.

"Come on, Tigress. You can't tell me that you are the least curious," Po said as they entered the kitchen; the shop wasn't open yet.

"Oh I'm curious. I just don't want to get in trouble. I am an obedient follower and student of my master," She said in a dignified way. Po looked at her with an unbelieving smirk.

"Bolshevik."

"Alright," Tigress interrupted. "I am curious too, but the problem is Shifu's going to see us." Po had forgotten about that part. He rubbed his chin as he thought of a way to get around Master Shifu's prying eye.

"Well, how did you catch him spying on you the first time," Po asked.

"I unintentionally snuck up on him and caught him in the act," Tigress explained.

"Hmm, maybe the answer will come in time to what in the world he's doing up there," Po said. Then a customer came into the building. "I'm sorry but we're not open yet."

"Po, Po, never deny a paying guest when she's hungry," Mr. Ping rushed to the front. Po rolled his eyes, but then he and Tigress recognized who it was.

"Jin," Po and Tigress declared, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see if Monkey was here, but I see he's not here yet," Jin said disappointed.

"To be honest, I haven't seen Monkey since yesterday. What's up," Po asked.

"Nothing really. I hope," She said ominously. Just then, Crane arrived with a bandaged up Monkey. Both his arms and legs were wrapped and so was his torso.

"What happened," Tigress asked.

"Ironically, he slipped on a banana peel," Crane grumbled. Everyone carried Monkey over to the chair. They were frantically asking him questions, but for some reason Crane wasn't as shocked and frantic as the others. Jin hugged him gingerly.

"Monkey, please speak to me," the fox pleaded.

"Jin, please...grant me one request," Monkey whispered to her.

"Anything, Monkey," She said.

"Please...Please realize that..."

"What? What?"

"That...You got pranked," Monkey said starting to laugh. Po and Tigress were confused as Crane rolled his eyes. Jin just looked at him with a shocked face as Monkey had a laughing fit. Jin slapped him across the face. Everyone was shocked at that. Monkey held his struck cheek as Jin spoke angrily to him.

"Don't ever do that again! I thought you were really hurt! I've...I've had enough of these jokes! We can never figure out if we are sincere or not. I was so worried that you were actually in pain! I...I love you too much to see you hurt." She left the room in a crying storm, leaving Po, Tigress, Monkey, and Crane surprised and still. Crane breathed and sighed.

"I told you it was a stupid idea," He muttered. Monkey ran out the shop looking for Jin, letting the bandages fly off. "Him and his pranks."

"Let up on him," Po replied. "This is what both of them use to do. It's their life. Or _was_ their life. Now, if Monkey can't figure out a way to make it up to her, then we're going to have to find another fox."

"Po," Tigress said slightly angered at the joking manner in his voice.

"I'm sorry. But let's just hope Monkey can repair this relationship," Po sighed.

Monkey was looking all over the streets of the village for the fox. He asked everyone near and far. He finally went out of the town to look around. Right at the entry of the village was a lonely fox on her knees shaking from the crying. Monkey rubbed the back of his head nervously as he spoke. "Jin," He said in a whisper. Jin's eyes shot open and looked at him with rage in her eyes. Her mouth was firmly set, her lips pressed tightly together, and her eyebrows slanted downwards in a scowl as her brown eyes looked at him. Her eyes were red too, from all the crying.

"What do you want," Jin asked coldly.

"Your forgiveness," Monkey sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. You're right. These pranks need to stop. From now on, we never prank each other again." Monkey said taking her hands. Jin looked at him and smiled as she hugged him with her arms around his neck. A surprised Monkey slowly hugged back, wrapping his arms around her waist. As they pulled away, but not enough to break their embrace, Monkey's face was still pensive. Jin tilted her head silently asking what was wrong. "Did...did you mean what you said when we were in the shop? Do you really love me? Or was that just a prank," Monkey asked fearing the truth. Jin looked at him with an understanding look. These pranks had really gotten out of hand. They couldn't even tell their true feelings for each other without mistrust. Jin caressed his cheek and quickly kissed him.

Monkey was surprised, but he kissed back. As they broke apart, Jin smiled at Monkey's completely lost face. "What do you think," She asked. Monkey just kissed her again.

"I need you to do something for us, Crane," Po asked of the bird. While Monkey and Jin were together, Crane, Tigress, and Po were discussing in Tigress's room a plan to unveil what the Great Master was doing.

"What is that," Crane asked, surprised that BOTH of them wanted something of him.

"Could you figure out why Master Shifu is spying on us," Po asked. Crane eyed him suspiciously.

"And what makes you think I'll be able to do that," Crane doubtfully said.

"One, you have a relationship with one of the people who now lives there. Two, Master Shifu won't be expecting you. Three, he currently has an eye on us, but he can't keep track of all of us at the same time. Tigress and I will be doing something. I'll have the others take the masters on a tour of the ancient ruins. That will not only give you and Lu alone time, but it will give you a chance to have a one on one talk with him," Po explained.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Crane argued. "I would think Tigress would be a better candidate for that. I've...never been that close to Master Shifu."

"I've already tried talking to him," Tigress sighed from laying down in her bed. "He won't tell me anything. And you can imagine he won't tell Po anything."

"Which leaves you," Po said leaning on Tigress's dresser. Crane groaned.

"Fine," he muttered, "But I can't promise anything."

"That's good enough," Tigress said. "Now if you please...get out of my room." She said it in a playful tone. Both Crane and Po rolled their eyes and went down stairs with Tigress behind them.

"You know, this use to be my room," Po stated.

"Not now," Tigress said with a smirk. Crane began to exit the shop.

"Okay, tomorrow then. I'll pass the word on to the others," He said going out of the shop.

"So what do you have in mind for us to do tomorrow," Tigress asked Po innocently. Po very nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"I'll tell you about it tomorrow," Po said dismissively, getting back to work. This left Tigress very curious.

 **to be continued**


	26. Day 26

Day 26: Thurday

 **You're going to love this one ;)**

* * *

"Do you guys understand," Po asked. The group there had finished their discussion.

"Yep, we distract Master Shifu for a while, and you will get a signal from Crane when he's seen Master Shifu," Master Gorilla said.

"But do we all have to go to the ruins," Monkey groaned. Po laughed.

"No, of course not. I just said that because that's the last thing we haven't taken the masters to. You, Monkey, are free to go anywhere you want. I understand if you want to spend the day with Jin," he said.

"Actually," Monkey struggled, rubbing the back of his head, "Jin wanted to see my work at the metal shop."

"Why," Crane asked, sitting in the chair next to him. Monkey shrugged.

"She's always been curious about what I do there," he explained.

"We melt metal and make it shiny," Crane said simply in a sarcastic tone. Monkey rolled his eyes. "But I'll let it slide. What about the rest of you?"

"I would actually like to go to the ruins," Viper said. "I've never seen or heard of them."

"The Ruins are of an ancient civilization that no one knows about. It's filled with toppled pillars, overgrown exotic plants, damaged huts, and a temple that no one can get into just yet," Po explained.

"Yet," Master Ox asked.

"It's said to only open on summer solstices," Po replied. "So everyone has their places?" The whole group nodded.

"Good," Krista said, "We'll be off then." They waved good-bye to Po and went out of the shop, leaving Crane and Tigress with him.

"So...what will you and Tigress be doing," Crane asked with a hint of smugness in his voice. Po was prepared.

"We're just going over to the Abandoned Place so I can teach her some new cooking stuff," He said in a perfectly normal voice.

"Oh," Crane said a little disappointed. "Okay then. I'll signal you when I'm ready." With that, Crane flew off, taking the longer way to the Palace as not to be picked up on Shifu's radar.

"So what are we going to be learning," Tigress asked. Po put his two fingers together nervously.

"Can I talk to you in my...your room," Po said reluctantly. Tigress smirked at this but followed Po up to her room anyways. Once they were in the room, Po became very very nervous.

"What's wrong Po," Tigress asked, "Aren't we going to the Abandoned Place?"

"Yes, but not for what I told Crane. I...I was wondering if...um...you would like to...go...on a date with me," He said stuttering. The air in the room froze. Tigress's widened eyes spoke for her covered mouth. Po continued to look at the floor.

"And...and what would you wear," Tigress asked. Po's head shot up.

"You mean-"

"Yes, yes I'll go on a date with you," Tigress said, surprised that the words were coming out of her mouth. Po jumped around so much that Tigress thought he would cave-in the house. Then Po stopped jumping around.

"Wait, what do you mean what I would wear," Po asked. Now Tigress was nervous.

"Well, I kinda have a dress for this occasion. Lu and Viper made it for me," Tigress explained nervously.

"Is that what's in the box," He asked. Tigress nodded. "Try it on! Let me see! Let see me!"

"After I change first," Tigress exclaimed with a laughing manner. Po blushed a bit. Of course, forgot about that.

"Well, I have that wedding suit from the incident with the goat girl," Po mentioned. Tigress was surprised that he couldn't even remember the girl's name. He had really moved on.

"Okay, just give me a minute to get myself ready," Tigress said. Po nodded as he went out of her room.

Minutes later, Crane was at the front of the Palace. Shifu couldn't see him from here. He came into the courtyard, openly looking for Shifu but secretly looking for Lu. He found her in the Training Hall, flying around in lazy loops with a happy smile. She was singing a love song, mumbling Crane's name. Crane blushed at the sight and did a purposeful cough to get her attention. Not good.

"Crane," She said in surprise, not looking where she was flying. She flew smack-dab into one of the support beams. Crane ran over to her and caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. "Hheheey," She said nervously and groggily, "What are you doing here so early?" She was embarrassed. Crane smiled and kissed her on the cheek to relieve the embarrassment. Lu blushed enormously.

"Were you thinking of me," Crane asked sincerely.

"Of course," Lu sighed, as she rest her wing on his cheek.

"Well, I see you two are getting along in here," said a familiar voice. The two birds shot over to see Master Shifu standing in the entry with a smile.

"Master Shifu," They both said as Crane dropped Lu to the ground. "Ow!"

"I was just checking up on you two," Shifu said as Lu got up to her feet.

"We were just...um...training," Crane fibbed. Everyone in the room knew it was a lie, but Crane was trying to conceal the reason _why_ he was here.

"Hmm, where were the masters down the valley going," He asked. Crane's eyes lit up. He _was_ watching them.

"Oh, they went to the old ruins," He explained.

"And Po and Tigress," the red panda asked.

"They went to a special place Po teaches Tigress to cook," Crane explained.

"Ah, the old Abandoned Place," He said. Crane's face showed a bit of frustration. Man, he was good, Crane thought. He wouldn't think that the telescope he had could see the Abandoned Place. "Well, carry on," he finished, going away, "I'm going to meditate."

"My butt," Crane muttered to himself. When he was gone, Crane talked to Lu. "Sorry for dropping you. He surprised me."

"I understand. So why are you up here," Lu asked.

"Well," Crane said with a playful grin, "Po has me doing something that...requires stealth. Want to join?" Lu was reluctant but agreed. They snuck over to the Hall of Heroes and rounded the back. They peeped over the corner to see Master Shifu looking through his telescope.

"What is he doing," Lu whispered. They ducked behind the corner to make sure Shifu couldn't hear them.

"Spying on us. They were right," Crane muttered lowly.

"I don't feel good doing this," Lu replied. Crane shrugged.

"With Po, you get use to the feeling," He said, looking back at Shifu. "You stay here." As he approached Shifu, he took out a mirror and started reflecting the sun to the valley.

Down below, Po, in a brown cloak, was underneath the kitchen, staying out of sight of Shifu's eye. Then he saw Crane's flashing light. "Tigress, we have to go," He called. Tigress came down the stairs in the same type of cloak as Po. They both saw the flashing, and it stopped. They ran out the back door, clutching their cloaks tightly and ran to the Abandoned Place.

"Master Shifu," Crane said, surprising the red panda. He didn't see Po or Tigress run to the Abandoned Place. They got there without him, or anyone knowing.

"Master Crane!" He exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Master, why are you spying on us," Crane asked simply.

"I wasn't spying," Master Shifu answered more readily. "I was patrolling the valley."

"Okay, then how is it that you know about the Abandoned Place and about the Masters being down at Mr. Ping's and everything else. You hardly come down the mountain," Crane retorted.

"Master Crane, I have no time for your pestering questions," Master Shifu said starting to shoo him away.

"Okay fine, shoo me away like a second rate student," Crane spat out. That made Shifu stop. "Look, you and Tigress have a special bond, so do you and Po, but for the rest of us, you don't bother about us. You and I don't even have a student-teacher relationship. We're just people in the same house. We have to get our lessons from Tigress." This made Shifu ashamed. "Look, I won't ask why you're spying on us. Just answer me one question in all this chaos." Shifu sighed.

"Okay," He said. Crane was shocked he said that.

"Okay, why weren't we switched with some other area? Did the people not need us," Crane asked.

"The people had nothing to do with it. I requested that you stay here," Master Shifu explained. "And you may ask the other question."

"Why did you request it," Crane asked. Master Shifu sighed.

"A feeling. I had a feeling about this and I followed that feeling," Master Shifu explained, though a bit murky in the explanation. Crane knew he wasn't lying but he couldn't figure out what he meant. "I'll explain when you come back to live in the palace." Crane started to go. "Crane," Shifu said, halting him, "You are right. You, the rest of the Furious Five, have never had any type of relationship with me. That's because I don't know how to care properly. If I love too much, I get a Tai-Lung, if I love too little, I get a Tigress. Po's the only one who knows how to love properly. That's why I have a special relationship with him. I learn from him. And when you see him, tell him 'Well played'." Crane went away, confused about the last part. Lu had heard the entire thing as they went away together to the barracks' kitchen.

"Wow," Was all both of them could say.

While Shifu and Crane had been speaking, Po and Tigress made it to the Abandoned Place. Po took off his cloak revealing his wedding suit underneath. "We slipped past everyone's eye. Now we have the place to ourselves," Po sighed.

"Yeah," Tigress said nervously clutching her cloak. "Umm...Po...can you tell me how I look?"

"Well, you look mysterious with that cloak on," Po joked. "Take the cloak off so I can see you." Tigress took a big breath and slowly took off the cloak. She looked at Po's eyes and waited for a response. Po was...speechless. His mouth hung open and eyes widened. The dress was beautiful, and it made the wearer even more beautiful.

"Well," Tigress said impatiently.

"I really can't tell you how great you look in the dress. Words just can't describe it," Po replied. That didn't ease Tigress's nervousness.

"But do I look...beautiful," She asked.

"Tigress, you look so beautiful I think I'm going to have to use new words. Astounding, Astonishing, and also, of course, Awesome," Po said. Tigress blushed brightly.

"Thank you, you look great yourself," She commented. Po was wearing the blue sleeved, red vest outfit he had once wore to a wedding gone awry. Po grabbed her seat and let her sit down. He put the cloaks on the bed nearby and started making some food. Soon, the food was prepared and served with exquisite taste. "Wow Po! This is incredible," She said as she ate.

"I'm glad you like it," Po said nervously. They were silent for a moment. "So, why did you have Lu and Viper make the dress?" Tigress looked around nervously.

"Well, I...wanted to surprise you and...ask you on a date," She said slowly. Po rubbed the back of his head.

"Hehe, funny how things work out," Po said making both of them laugh.

"So, why did you wait until now to ask," Tigress asked.

"Well...I did it because I wanted to make sure no one knew about it. We couldn't very well just openly walk down the back way under Shifu's eye. He would tell somebody and we wouldn't hear the end of it until...who knows when," Po replied.

"So all of this was just to go on date? Not to get information from Shifu," Tigress asked.

"It was about that, but this was my main focus," Po said shyly. Tigress smiled.

"Thanks Po." Po smiled goofily back, accidentally spilling water on his suit. He quickly got a cloth and patted it dry. Tigress giggled through the whole thing. After that, Po saw her giggling.

"Nice to know I entertained you," Po muttered. Tigress grabbed his hand and offered a small smile.

"I'm sorry. You're just so funny," Tigress said, still laughing. "Actually, I would like to thank you for that."

"For what," Po asked, still wiping the water off.

"For letting me stay at the house with you. You've really changed me. I'm friendlier, looser, less hard on myself, and more cheerful. Thanks to you, more and more people are realizing that I'm a woman, and men don't run away from me anymore," She said. Po looked away with a slightly angry look.

"That's not always a good thing," He muttered to himself, but Tigress heard it.

"Is that jealousy I hear," Tigress teased.

"What? No! I'm just saying that there are a lot of jerks out there and I don't want you to get hurt by them," Po recovered, though she was right. Tigress surprised him by kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank you Po," she said. "So what do you think about the question?" Po was clueless. "About why we're not somewhere else protecting the people." Po slumped back into his chair thinking while rubbing his chin.

"There are three theories. One, which is highly unlikely, no one needed us to protect them. Two, which is a bit more likely, the Great Masters wanted us to help the other masters. Three, which is my best guess, Shifu requested it."

"Why would he request it," Tigress asked, finishing up her dinner. Po shrugged.

"Training. Maybe he wants us to do some training that can only be done while working in the valley. I mean, look at us. Crane's skinny legs are getting bigger. Monkey's become stronger. Mantis is a bit more patient and more sensitive than usual. Viper has gotten faster and can leap further due to her journey to her parents. You and I have become much faster and stronger. You have become...more beautiful, calm, loving, expressive, kind, sensitive, sexy, and I should shut up now!" Po blushed while Tigress giggled.

"Thank you. And you've gotten thinner. Your cheeks aren't as round as they use to be," Tigress commented.

"Yeah, I had my dad sew my pant again because I was losing weight," Po replied.

"But why didn't Shifu let us live in the Palace," She asked.

"Maybe because he wants us to connect more with the community. I don't know," Po sighed.

"So, how do you propose we get back without him knowing," Tigress questioned.

"Simple. I told Crane to tell Zeng to distract Shifu with busy work when the sunsets," Replied Po. Tigress looked out the high window.

"That's close," Tigress said as Po picked up her plates and dishes.

"Exactly, sorry we have to go so soon," Po apologized.

"It's fine. I had a great time," Tigress said standing up and getting her cloak. Po helped her put it on. "Thanks Po," She said turning around. She noticed that Po hadn't released his arms from around her waist yet. And Po noticed that her hands were on his chest. Before anyone could say anything, they kissed each other on the lips. Tigress wrapped her arms around his neck and Po tightened his grip on her waist. Po laughed a bit when Tigress's tail wrapped around his back. It felt funny. When they part, they were both smiling and breathing hard. "Um...Po."

"Never speak of it again," Po guessed.

"Actually, I was just thinking if we...could keep it a secret," She said shyly. Po smirked a bit.

"Well, I don't know," he said playfully. Tigress smirked back and kissed him on the lips again. When they parted, Po had a goofy smile on his face.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tigress smiled. Po noticed the sun's position.

"Come on, we have to get ready," Po said. He peeped out the door and looked through his handheld telescope at the mountain. He saw Zeng talking to Shifu. "Let's go!" With that, they dashed back to the valley, ran to the back of the shop, shut the door, ran up to Tigress's room, and close the door. "Whew! That was close."

"This is the first time I've ever done something without Master Shifu knowing completely," Tigress confessed.

"Really? Wow, I need to get you in trouble more," He joked earning a punch from Tigress. Then both of them became serious. "So...about the-"

"Kiss?" Tigress guessed. Po nodded. "It's something that every couple dating does. So, let's just say...custom?"

"Yeah, yeah, custom," Po recovered, "Well, it's getting late. Good night Tigress." Tigress kissed Po on the cheek making him blush.

"Goodnight Po," Tigress smiled shyly

 **to be continued**


	27. Day 27

Day 27: Friday

* * *

"He requested it," Po asked. Crane had come into the shop early the next day. He, Lu, Tigress, and Po were in Tigress's room. Tigress looked miserably outside of the window. The grey skies were everywhere and the rain pour powerfully. The lightning danced and spilled about everywhere, and the thunder laughed and applauded. All in all it was a pretty rainy day outside. They couldn't do much with all this downpour. While Tigress was looking out the window, the others were discussing about Shifu.

"Yes, and he said he had a feeling that he should do it. This just gets weirder and weirder," Crane said rubbing his head in confusion.

"Not really," Po replied, "It was a feeling that lead me to Ling. Speaking of which, where would our lady wolf be staying?"

"Master Shifu has made some arrangements for Krista to work at the Jade Palace while living with Ling," Lu giggled. "Do you think they'll get together?"

"You mean more than they already are," Crane suggested. Lu just smiled.

"So what did Shifu say when you talked to him about the relationship thing," Po asked.

"Well," Crane sighed, "I will admit I was angry at the fact he was watching us and that he actually never really talks to us unless we're in trouble with Po." Crane paused for a moment. "He said the reason was because he doesn't know how to love properly."

"What do you mean," Po asked.

"Well, he said that if he loves too much, he would create another Tai-Lung. And if he loves too little-"

"He would get another me," Tigress grumbled, not looking at them. Po rested his hand on her shoulder, making her feel better.

"He said Po's the only one that knows how to love properly," Crane continued. Now Tigress turned on her bed to face the conversation group as she scoffed.

"Yeah, him and anyone who has a golden heart," She said bitterly. Lu sat next to her patting her back. Tigress gave her a smile, letting her know she was okay.

"Oh, he told me to tell Po 'Well played'," a confused Crane said. Po laughed.

"Aw, I was hoping he wouldn't notice," Po said still laughing. The others were confused about what he was talking about. "He and I have these strategic plans to get each other off guard. That's how I know he gave you that scroll about pandas by Oogway," He said pointing to Tigress.

"You mean I was just part of a plot to catch you off guard," Tigress asked bewildered.

"Yep, and I got him back by learning the secret about Tigress," Po snickered.

"What are the secrets," Both birds asked.

"NOTHING!" Exclaimed both Po and Tigress, making the two blush and Crane and Lu laughed.

"So, how was the cooking at the Abandoned Place," Crane asked innocently.

"It was...great," They said together blushing at each other. Lu and Crane eyed each other with a knowing smirk.

"So I heard something happened at the ruins," Po recovered. Crane sat back on his chair and sighed.

"Well, the story goes like this. When you told the guys to go to the ruins, they were a little mischievous in going," Crane said.

"What does that mean," Tigress questioned.

"When they got there, they went through the overgrown bushes and pushed back some overgrown grasses and trees. The broken-down huts were all over but they paled in contrast of the temple. The four-sided pyramid led up to a gate with a red stone on the top. Well, they were about to call it day when someone suggested that they look at the back. In the back, there was an opening into the temple. It looked like an escape tunnel. So they went inside and had a look around. The place was beautiful, they said. It was really interesting that there was another way in," Crane explained. Po looked out of the window, quietly humming.

"You've been into the temple before, haven't you," Tigress asked, knowing he would only hum like that when he was guilty. The panda sighed in defeat.

"Okay, when I was young and my dad was very busy, I would sneak away from the shop and go to the ruins. One time I went during the summer solstice and the door was open. So, as the young child I was, I went in," Po said. Crane, Lu, and Tigress looked at him with disapproving looks. "I was curious and little! What did you expect?"

"Anyways," Tigress said, letting him continue.

"I looked all around the temple. I figured out that it once belong to a group of warriors. It use to be the center of all the techniques, weapons, and fighting styles," Po explained.

"What happened to the civilization," Lu asked.

"What happens to all civilizations. They moved, went to places far away. Eventually, all the techniques and methods they had were written down and used in the Kung Fu scrolls. When I found the other way out and in the temple, I used the temple as a get away place. It use to be my private place before my dad said it was too dangerous. Actually, when I first became Dragon Warrior, I went there when Tai-Lung was attacking and then went back up the mountain. While I was there, I found a secret room that I hadn't explored before. There is where I learned the Wuxi Finger Hold!" The others were shocked.

"So, anyone can just come in and learn that move," Crane questioned.

"Don't worry, I burned the scroll when I defeated Tai-Lung. I figured that if Master Shifu knew about it then it was probably safe somewhere," Po explained.

"Wow! You see, Po, there are things about you that we've never known about," Crane said. Po shrugged.

"I'm not that much of an interesting guy. Without the Dragon Warrior Title, I would just be an ordinary panda," Po replied.

"With an extraordinary history," Tigress insisted. Po shrugged again as he threw his hands up a bit.

"You guys keep trying to see if I have anything to hide or anything worth wild, but I don't. I'm just a plain big fat panda," Po replied sadly. Tigress rested her hand on his arm.

"You're our big fat panda, and there is more to you than meets the eye. The temple, Huang, Ru, Lin, Jin, your horrible horrible family, your father, and you," Tigress reassuringly.

"We are glad to have you here Po, and we're just wanting to learn more about you. You know everything about us but we don't know anything about you," Crane added.

"Okay then, ask me," Po said.

"How did you learn to shoot like that," Tigress asked.

"What do you mean," Crane, Lu, and Po asked in confusion.

"When I first slept here, you shot an arrow at Jung's window and didn't hit him," Tigress explained. Po laughed nervously as Crane and Lu looked at him with shocked faces.

"You what," Crane exclaimed.

"Anyways, to answer your question, Tigress, a man told me a story. He said if you shoot an apple on an apple tree through the center, you would gain an everlasting friend," Po paused sadly. "And of course no friend came. After a while I started doing trick shots just to keep it interesting."

"Oh Po," Lu said sympathetically, "I'm so sorry."

"But you did get friends," Crane argued. Po smiled.

"Yes, and you are the best friends a guy could have," Po said. Tigress surprised him by hugging him with a big smile on her face. Po blushed and had a sheepish goofy grin on his face as the other two friends laughed. The pouring rain outside had calmed to a drizzle and the patchy clouds started to disappear in the sun's light. Tigress released him from her grip.

"But you told me you learned from friends," Tigress reminded him. Po waved it off.

"Back then anyone who would talk to me was my friend," Po sighed.

"But you said that you didn't always have this boring life, and you were right," Tigress replied. Po sighed.

"I don't have a boring life. I'm just saying if it weren't for the Dragon title, I would be a boring person," Po explained.

"Po, you'll **_never_** be a boring person," Crane retorted. Po smiled

"Thanks guys," Po replied.

"So how did the dress look on her," Lu asked casually. Tigress's eyes shot over to her in a surprised glare as Lu covered her mouth. "I'm sorry! That was suppose to be secret!"

"Don't worry, she showed it to me," Po said, "It looked very nice on her." Tigress looked at him with a smirk. "What?"

"That's not what you said. You said Astounding, Astonishing, and, of course, Awesome," She smirked knowingly. Po smiled nervously.

"Well, I wasn't lying," Po stuttered. But Crane was clueless.

"What dress," He asked. Lu looked at Tigress for approval, to which Tigress nodded.

"I'll tell you later, but you must never tell anyone else in your life, EVER!" She threatened having her wing up to his throat. Crane nodded sheepishly. Tigress smiled.

"I guess she learned something from me," Tigress said to the others. Everyone in the room laughed. "Well, the rain's stopped pouring." Po yawned a bit as he stretched his body.

"So, what do you guys want to do," Po asked. Lu and Crane stood up.

"Actually, I think I'll go over to Mr. Kia's place with Crane. He's been wanting to take me there," Lu said rather grimly.

"Worried that you'll get ashes on your feathers," Po smirked. Lu sighed dreadfully. Crane put his arm around her.

"Don't worry, I told Mr. Kia to lay low on the ashes today," Crane said. "See you later, Po." The two birds went out the door and Tigress was about to too, but Po stopped her.

"What's wrong, Po," Tigress asked concerned that he wasn't smiling.

"Do you really mean all that you said," Po asked. Tigress growled and punched him in the gut. "A simple yes or no would suffice!"

"Of course I meant every word I said. If I didn't, I wouldn't have said it. Po, we need you and want you here," Tigress explained. "I'm offended that you would even ask a question like that."

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure," Po apologized. Tigress hugged him again and squeezed him tight.

"We love you Po," Tigress said sweetly. Po felt his heart stop. That was the most affectionate that Tigress had ever been; besides the 'accidental' kissing. Po wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged back. Tigress pulled away far enough to look at him and smile. Then the eye thing started again. Po and Tigress were entranced into each other's eyes. They slowly stared at each other. Tigress could see Po's eyes glancing from her eyes to her lips. But they hadn't moved forward or anything. Tigress finally got tired of it. "Just do it," She whispered. Po was surprised.

"But I thought that-"

"Let's just say it's...something we like doing," Tigress answered quickly.

"So you like kissing me," Po asked, moving closer. His breath was making Tigress tingle.

"I...I...I," Was all she could say as Po closed the gap. Their lips connected once again but this time was different. This time, both wanted it to happen. Tigress's hands caressed Po's face as Po's hands gently rubbed Tigress's back, making her purr lovingly. Po smiled again into the kiss when Tigress's tail wrapped around his left leg. Tigress felt Po's tongue licking for entry to her mouth. She slowly opened it and her closed eyes rolled back as his tongue searched every inch of her mouth. Tigress smirked inside as she fought back and the tongue battle began. As they slowly ran out of breath, they parted and panted for breath.

"You...(clears his throat) you know, this Um... gets better every time we do it," Po said very shyly and very nervously.

"Then lets try again," She said going for another, but Po stopped her.

"Wait! What does this mean?" Tigress stopped for that one. What did it mean? Does it mean that... Tigress shook her head. She couldn't be that. It would...it wouldn't go well. Plus, she still didn't know if he felt the same way about her. "Tigress," Po called, bringing her back to reality.

"Like I said, it's something that we like doing," Tigress said now being released from Po's arms. "So...do you want to join Crane and Lu?"

"Sure," Po said still a bit shaky. That day was an interesting day.

 **to be continued**


	28. Day 28

Day 28: Saturday

* * *

Po grunted a bit as he sat down in his chair. The shop was pretty full, and Tigress was helping out with the orders. Po sat down for a rest. It was nice to have Tigress around the shop. It kept her busy and she was very helpful and worked very hard. It was enough to make Mr. Ping consider making her his new employee. Anyways, when the breakfast rush was finally over, Tigress took a seat next to Po. She could see that Po was thinking of something, but it could be anything. Then Po slammed his hand on the table as an idea flew into his mind.

"I know what we could do for today," Po announced.

"What's that," Tigress asked, not really wanting to know.

"We could...just talk." Tigress looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I think we've already done that. Unless you want to do it again," Tigress asked.

"No, not really," Po sighed as he was trying to figure out what to do. "I have an idea what we could do for the last day. We could invite all the masters to the Abandoned Place and have a dinner." Tigress moved her head around, giving him an agreeing grunt.

"Okay, way to plan ahead," She said smirking, "But what about today?" Po thought and thought.

"I don't know," Po sighed. They sat in silence for about two minutes. "You know, I like being friends with you," He blurted out.

"Why do you say that," Tigress asked, a little sad that he said that.

"Because... what happened yesterday," He said nervously, treading dangerous waters, "What we did normal friends would be awkward with each other forever. But for us, it's completely okay the next day."

"Do you think we should become something more," Tigress asked, dangerously getting closer to Po's face...again.

"Well-"

"Po," Called Monkey. Both Tigress and Po winced when they heard that. Tigress backed away from Po.

"Hey Monkey," Po smiled trying to seem like nothing happened, "What's up?"

"We have just been invited to a royal masters' party and you are the guest of honor! It's going to be at Way-Fung temple," Monkey explained.

"We'll all be there," Said Viper as she slithered in, "Except Master Shifu."

"Why," Tigress asked.

"He said he had to stay here and finish up something important," Viper shrugged, but Po was puzzled.

"So we have to get started now and leave," Tigress said, "The temple is long way."

So the group was on their way to the party. The temple was a beautifully decorated purple walling with white lilies on its sides. The jade green columns stood proud and tall at the entry way of the temple. A giant rhino greeted the team as they came in. The temple was lit in a satin lighting and the lanterns around shone brightly. Sweet music was being played, pompous laughter and joke-telling roared through out the room, and the bountiful food was being presented. Tigress rolled her eyes at the sight of Po salivating over the food table. The rhino showed the masters to their seats. Tigress had gotten her blue vest and black pants for the occasion. She didn't want to wear the dress just yet as to not attract attention, unwanted attention.

The crowd was big and diverse as Tigress could see many different people and animals presented here. Then she saw someone that she thought looked familiar. Before she could say anything, Viper slithered over to where Po and Tigress were sitting and whispered to them. "Is that your snow leopard cousin that we met at the family reunion," She asked. Po looked at the nicely dressed snow leopard, who had an apparent sad and dreary air about him.

"It looks like him, and it would make sense for him to be here," Po sighed, grumbling over the fact that he was here. "Just leave it be. We're here as honored guests, not to start a fight or anything." Viper nodded then slithered back to her seat. Just then, a fox in a white robe repeatedly tapped his glass for everyone to be silent. After he cleared his throat he said.

"Masters from all over the country of our beautiful China, I am glad to have all of you here for this wonderful occasion. The time we can gather here and talk and socialize."

"What if we don't **want** to socialize," Tigress whispered to Po making him snicker a bit.

"Shhh," He replied, though still laughing a bit.

"We have invited one of our most beloved and powerful and fearsome warriors here. People from all over this part of the world is here to celebrate and welcome all walks of life, and tonight, we have a special guest with us."

"Oh no," Po muttered lowly.

"Please welcome, the warrior chosen and sent by the universe in a ball of fire, the Dragon Warrior!" The fox pointed over to where Po was sitting. Po's friends urged him to get up so Po stood up and bowed to the clapping audience. Po could hear some gasps and murmurs, but he could also hear some cheers and exclamations. As Po sat back down, Tigress secretly patted her hand on Po's leg. Po smiled back to her worried face, reassuring her. It could be hard, you know, being the opposite of what people expected. "Now, it is time to mingle. We'll have some entertainment playing while the food is being served," The fox finished as he took his seat and the music played. Po got out of his seat and moved towards the crowd of masters. Tigress grabbed him by the arm.

"Where are you going," She asked.

"Yeah, the food buffet isn't open yet," Ling snickered from his seat. Krista punched him in the ribs.

"I'm just going to see someone," Po replied.

"You mean, Han," Crane said knowingly. Po sighed.

"Trust me, I'm not going to do something you guys will regret," He calmed. But the team wasn't.

"We're not worried about that," Master Ox said, "We're worried that you'll do something that **you'll** regret." Po sighed.

"I'll be fine," Po said going on his way, but Tigress followed.

"Where ever you go, I go," Tigress said to him firmly. He groaned but went with it. Po and Tigress pressed through the crowd when they finally bumped into Han. When Han saw them, it was apparent that he was very depressed.

"Han, what are you doing here," Po asked, acting surprised. Han just sighed.

"Hello, Po, Mrs. Ping," He said respectfully. "I was hoping to speak with you alone, Po."

"Forget it, I'm hearing this," Tigress said sternly.

"Tigress," Po said in a warning tone, "Can you please excuse us for a moment? Why don't you get some juice?" Tigress looked at Po with an angry face, but Po's face was stern. She huffed as she released Po's arm. "Wow, I can't believe that actually worked," Po murmured to himself as Tigress passed Han. She whispered something to him that made him very frightened.

"You better treat him well, or I'll slice the little pieces that make you a male," Han shrunk as Tigress's shadow passed him. Po rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about her. She's just protective," Po eased.

"That doesn't mean I don't deserve it," Han said as they headed for a corner of the crowd room where they could hear each other.

"So...Master Ha-"

"Please, just Cousin Han. I don't deserve to be called a master for what I've done to you," Han said remorsefully.

"Don't beat yourself up too badly," Po said nonchalantly glancing around the magnificent hall.

"Please Po, I don't deserve your sympathy. We use to be the best of friends and then my big ego blocked me from seeing you being belittled. I don't know what the rest of the family will say or what they believe of you now, but from me I want to say I am sorry. I know no amount of that will ever clean the years of damage I've done," Han said woefully. Po was surprised. Han wasn't the one for stuff like this. He really was sorry. Po patted him on the shoulder.

"It's alright," Po smiled.

"I wouldn't say the rest of the family would say that. I'm pretty sure they still don't believe that you're the Dragon Warrior," Han said shaking his head. "Now I see why your wife chose you. You're the perfect warrior and have a golden heart." Po rubbed the back of his head nervously. He had forgotten that his family didn't know about Tigress and Po's real relationship.

"Yeah, hehe, um...listen, Han. Can you not tell people about Tigress and me being married? I don't think she would want to announce it to everyone just yet," Po said.

"Sure," Han shrugged not really caring, but he smirked at the end, making Po a bit worried. "So I can say we're married to everyone else?" Po grabbed Han by the collar and brought him close to his face. Po snarled and growled lowly as he spoke.

"If you do or say or if I even so hear a rumor of that, I personally stab you so many times that everyone here will think you're a new type of spotted leopard."

"Okay! Okay," Han exclaimed, "I was just joking, Po." Po gently released him. "Man, you really do love her, don't you," He stated walking away from the panda. Po sighed at the predicament he saw himself in. He absentmindedly went back to his seat. The other masters were mingling but Tigress was waiting for him with two glasses of water and a smirk on her face.

"What," Po muttered knowing something was up.

"I saw everything. You were so kind to him one minute and then all of a sudden you had his throat in your hands," Tigress said with a laughing smile. Po sighed as he rolled his eyes. He told her everything that Han talked to him about. Tigress's eyes widened but she still had the smirk on. "So I'm not your wife but no one else can have me?"

"Did you really want to be with Han," Po said smirking.

"No, but what if it wasn't Han? You're criticizing me for being protective and you nearly killed your own family member," Tigress replied, making Po nervous fishing for words.

"Well, I...umm... Hpmh, you win," Po gave up. Tigress giggled quietly as she patted his leg. And they celebrated and enjoyed the party.

 **to be continued.**


	29. Day 29

Day 29: Sunday

* * *

Po very quietly stepped into Tigress's room. She was sleeping and from last night he knew she would be tired. He had brought a plate of breakfast for her. He slowly placed it on her nightstand and smiled at her sleeping. She was very peaceful and cute when she was sleeping, especially when she was purring. Po tried to quietly exit the room. "I heard you from the first time you opened the door," Tigress said from her bed. Po mentally cursed himself as he turned around to see an upright smiling Tigress. Po hung his head.

"Sorry if I woke you," Po apologized. Tigress got up from her bed and lifted his chin up.

"It's alright," She smiled widely as she kissed him on the cheek, "I was already awake. So what's on the agenda?"

"Well, Crane's suppose to be coming in for today to talk to us about something," Po shrugged. Tigress looked at him with confusion. "Yeah I don't know either."

"Until then," Tigress said getting ready to go down stairs, "let's get the shop ready." As they went down the stairs, Po continued to talk to her.

"I'm very grateful that you stayed here and helped us with the shop," Po smiled, "My dad was even thinking of making you an official employee." Tigress smiled back.

"Well, I'm thankful for you letting me stay here. I really didn't have anywhere else to go," Tigress replied as they came down the stairs.

"And I'm glad that you two are grateful and thankful," Said a voice. Po and Tigress looked to see Crane at the front of the kitchen. "I was wondering when you would come down. There are only fourteen steps, yet you take forever." Po and Tigress blushed.

"Nice to see you, too, Crane," Po muttered. "What was it that you wanted to talk to us about? Is it something for Lu?"

"No, it's something for Krista," Crane replied. Tigress and Po looked at him with shocked and confused faces. Crane laughed. "It's not what you think! Krista is moving into Ling's place and she needs some help with her things. That and Lu needs some help with her things since she's going to be living in the Jade Palace," Crane said in a daydream.

"Hey, bird boy," Po called when he snapped his fingers in front of Crane. "Where is Lu getting her stuff?"

"Well, they're suppose to be here at noon, so we'll just be helping Krista," Crane explained.

"Well, we better get there. I can already see the line from here," Tigress said looking up at the mountain. So they went up the Jade Palace and started to help with Krista's things. Shifu was nowhere in sight.

"He said he had to go up and mediate. This is the first time I've actually seen him go there," Master Gorilla said.

"You mean he's not at the telescope," Tigress asked surprised. Gorilla shook his head. "That's weird."

"I know, but let's get these things down to Ling's house. They won't take much time," Po said getting back on topic. As Po, Tigress, and Crane carried her things, Po asked, "So Crane, you know Lu pretty well, right?"

"Yeah," Crane said very carefully.

"Well, what's her story," Po asked.

"Well, it's not as damaged as ours. She grew up with a mother and father and two older brothers; she was the youngest. She hated getting picked on by her brothers so she learned some self-defense moves."

"I imagine that helped," Tigress mused.

"Oh it did," Crane continued. "Pretty soon, her father saw that she was excelling in her marital arts and signed her up for a Kung Fu school near them. It was hard because she was female but she managed. The hardest part was when she became a master."

"Why is that," Po asked.

"Because her father and one of her brothers died from a village plague. It was hard on her, and she questioned whether to go through with becoming a master. But she decided that it would make her brother and father and family proud if she became a master, and so she did."

"Wow, that's really amazing," Po replied.

"It is," Crane said. They came to the end of the steps and to Krista's new house.

"That should be it," sighed Krista.

"So how is living with Ling going to be like," Po said wiggling his eyebrows. Krista stared at him with a deadpanned, almost threatening, look.

"I don't know Po. What was it like living with Tigress for a month," Krista came back. Po's smile turned into a hurt frown as Crane laughed and Tigress snickered.

"Well play," Po replied, still hurt. Krista smirked and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. Look on the bright side, you got to look at her secret dress," Krista smirked. Po, Crane, and Tigress were all shocked. Presently, only those four were in Ling's house.

"How do you know about the dress," Crane, Po, and Tigress asked.

"What did Viper tell you," Tigress growled in front of her. Krista laughed.

"She told me nothing. You really didn't think I heard you or saw you coming up and down those stairs to see Lu and Viper? Please, I knew all along," Krista explained. "So was it nice?"

"It was awesome!" Po exclaimed. Crane laughed as Tigress blushed from embarrassment, but she did have a little smile on her face.

"Well, that's all the stuff. Lu's stuff should be in front of Mr. Ping's place," Crane said. Suddenly, they heard a scream. It sounded like Mr. Ping. They rushed to the shop to see a big stack of stuff overshadowing the small duck.

"Po," Mr. Ping exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're here. Somebody came and just dumped all this junk in front of my shop. Now my customers can barely get in." One such customer tried to fit through a small crack.

"Hey! That's my stuff you're talking about," Lu exclaimed as she flew in. Everyone looked at her.

"This is all your stuff," Crane asked, dreadfully. Lu shyly smiled. Po groaned. So they tugged all Lu's stuff up the 10,000 steps of the Jade Palace. Crane and Lu could fly some stuff in and some of her stuff got damaged and had to be thrown out. At last, they were done.

"Okay, never ever move out of this place," Po exhaled as he slumped to the floor. Lu giggled.

"I'll be sure to do that," she replied. Then she came up to Crane. "Crane, can you help me move some of these things into place?" She said this was a cute puppy dog face, but her voice suggested something else.

"Sssure," Crane stuttered as he was dragged into her room and the door was shut. Before anyone could say anything, Po just said.

"Let's go."

"But we haven't helped her with the stuff yet," Tigress argued.

"Doesn't matter now. Let's go," Po reiterated. "Besides, we have to get the Abandoned Place ready for the last day." Tigress had forgot about that.

"Okay, I'll get Monkey, Viper, and Gorilla to help with the decorations," Tigress said. And away they went.

 **to be continued.**


	30. Day 30

Day 30: Monday

* * *

Tigress woke up bright and early for today. Today would be the farewell party for the masters. She jumped out of bed and brushed her fur to get ready. Tigress giggled at this. A month ago, she would have never even thought about doing this. Now, it seemed like a common instinct. As her back was turned, someone had the audacity to cover their paws over her eyes. "Guess who," said a voice. Tigress laughed at this.

"Is it someone who has black and white fur," She asked.

"Maybe," replied the voice.

"Does he eat a lot," Tigress smirked.

"Yes," the voice muttered.

"Does he have a kind heart, and is he gentle, caring, loving, thoughtful, and... weighs 90 lbs?"

"Okay, five out of six ain't bad," Po said as he let her see. Tigress laughed as she hugged him.

"Good morning, Po," she said happily.

"Good morning," Po replied surprised. "You seem very cheerful today."

"Today is the party remember?"

"I know, but I've never seen you this excited for a party," Po commented. Tigress shrugged as she went back to her dresser.

"There are a lot of things you still have to learn about me, Po," She said playfully. Po smirked.

"I'm going over to the Abandoned Place to finish up on the decorations. I just heard from the masters that Shifu won't be coming to the party. He had to go the council to report about the Masters Exchange program."

"Figures," Tigress rolled her eyes as she stretched.

"Hey, be easy on him. I know we haven't known anything about our current situation, but he is doing it for our best," Po said defending him. Tigress sighed. He always had to stand up for the little guy. ( **hehe puns)** It was just another thing about Po Tigress came to admire.

"Well, that just leaves the place to ourselves. Fortunately for us, the village has been particularly q-"

"Shhh!" Po quieted, "Don't say it out loud. You might undo it." Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, why don't you go and prepare for the party. It's starting at noon," Tigress said looking at the mirror again.

"Okay, good noon," Po snickered. Tigress glared at him as he descended the steps. She wore a small smile as glared though. Tigress went into the dresser and looked at the beautiful red dress that she wore for Po and her's date. She was debating whether or not to wear it.

"No," She said pushing the box back, "Monkey and the others would tease me till I died." She decided to just go with her usual look. Pretty soon, noon came. Tigress had been working in Mr. Ping's shop for the previous two hours. Now was the time to go to the Abandoned Place. She joined the others there. Po had really out done himself with the place. The ceiling was decorated with orange, red, and yellow banners, streamers, and lanterns. The big round table, the place is rather big, was covered with a red table cloth. If it were a date, Po would be an excellent person to come to.

"Wow, Po," Lu commented, "You really have done an impressive job."

"Looks just like when Lu and I were on a date," Crane said looking around. Po was at the stove making food for everyone.

"Oh good, because I used the exact same decorations from your date for this place," Po confessed. Lu laughed while Crane smirked.

"Not very original are you," He commented.

"Ya wanna eat or no," Po shot back.

"Ooo, nice one," Crane said still smirked. Slowly the others trickled in. While the masters were talking with each other, Po and Tigress were preparing the food. "So Master Gorilla, you'll be going back to your hometown?"

"Yes, my wife and I have been there for a while and leaving wouldn't do good for the kids. I'm sorry I have to leave."

"It's okay," Monkey answered. "We understand the sacrifices a father must make. It was good to have you here and we hope you'll visit here again. So Po," Monkey directed the conversation to the kitchen, "you haven't told us about your week without us and what it was like in the village." Po looked at Monkey with a death stare, scaring the primate.

"It was... great," Po said simply, but Tigress was more willing to talk, which was odd for Po.

"It was very interesting. We got to see Lin's wedding reception, learned some things about each other, explored, and...we met some people close to us," She said sadly. Po swung his arm around her shoulders, giving her reassuring smile. "All in all," She continued, "It was interesting. What about you, Monkey? What did you do with your brother?"

"Well, he and I are polar opposites. He hates pranks. So I tried my best to be like him and he tried his best to imitate me. Needless to say it was quite a mess at our house, literally," Monkey huffed in exhaustion.

"That sounded like a week I needed to see to believe," Crane laughed. "My week with my mother was...hectic and frustrating."

"Why is that," Lu asked beside him. Crane grumbled and mumbled but he finally talked.

"She was getting married two days after I arrived," Crane replied, shocking everyone. "I have no objections to the guy she's marrying but she could have told me."

"Well, you didn't tell her about being a Kung Fu Master," Viper reminded. "I remember that because that was the day we had to pretend the Jade Palace was an inn!" She looked over to Po, who had a guilty smile on his face.

"I said I was sorry," Po said defensively.

"Anyways, my two weeks with my parents were very...boring in the least. He talked none stop about the techniques I had to learn in order to be a great master," Viper fussed. "It was like living with a guy who had no idea who you were!"

"I can empathize with that," Tigress said to herself.

"And how was your paid vacation at the inn by the beach, Master Mantis," Master Gorilla asked.

"It was, in Po's words, AWESOME," He exclaimed excitedly. The group laughed. While the group was preoccupied with the conversation they were having, Tigress and Po continued to cook. When everything was done, they waited for everything to simmer down. Po leaned back on the counter. He glanced behind him to see the masters were still talking. Tigress looked back as well. Then she looked at Po with a smile. Po smirked at her, slightly confused.

"What," He asked.

"Nothing, I... just really had a great time with you this past month. And I want to say thank you," Tigress replied, still smiling. Po smiled back and bowed to her, but Tigress ran up and hugged him. Shocked, Po hugged back.

"You really are a surprising, curious person," Po chuckled.

"And you're a person with a good heart," Tigress sighed lovingly. They quickly glanced at the table to see if the others were looking. Po surprised Tigress by leaning forward and kissing her. As usual, she melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him. Tigress purred happily as Po smiled into the kiss when her tail wrapped around his left leg. When they parted, they looked at each other with surprised and shocked faces. Interesting because they agreed that they would just say that it was something they liked doing. But there was something else in that kiss.

"Let's just say-"

"Let's just say," Tigress interrupted and paused, "that we love each other." Po's eyes widened.

"You...you love me? I mean, like, really love me," Po asked surprised, as though it weren't obvious. Tigress nodded shyly.

"Yes I do." Po kissed her again, surprising her again. When they parted, Po said,

"I love you too." Both of them smiled.

"Well it's about time!" exclaimed Monkey from the table. Tigress and Po looked towards the table to see that everyone was looking at them with smug smiles and joyous expressions. The two separated, blushing from embarrassment. Everyone laughed and chuckled.

"Don't worry," Crane said, "We'll try not to tease you two."

"We will," Monkey and Mantis asked. Jin slapped the two upside the head. "Ow! Okay we will."

"Thank you," Tigress said gratefully.

"We're so happy for you two," Viper said excitedly. Po and Tigress looked at each other with shy smiles. They brought the food over to the table and the group dinned to a lovely dinner.

 **to be continued.**


	31. Explanation

Explanation

* * *

The Furious Five, Lu, Krista, Ling, and Po stood in a line with Master Shifu facing them. Their faces didn't show nervousness, just curiosity. It was a patchy skied day outside and these warriors were standing in the Hall of Heroes. Master Shifu sighed. "I understand that all of you have questions, and some of you have gone to extreme lengths to figure them out," He said looking directly at Po. Po just smiled confidently at his master. "Now that Master Ox, Croc, and Gorilla have gone to their places and the Master Exchange Program is now over, you may ask your questions." Everyone looked at Po for questions, and Po knew that. So, he started.

"There is a list of questions that we have and I guess I'm going to be the speaker of those questions," Po said a little annoyed that he had to do it. "Why were the four weeks all in the same month?"

"Because I requested that they would be at the beginning of the year. I didn't know what I was going to do with it until I figured it would be for this past month," Shifu answered.

"Why did you request we stay here," Po asked back.

"Because...I had a feeling and...a dream," Shifu answered. "I was in the clouds in this dream when all of a sudden a huge white dragon appeared. It told me to make sure that the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior stayed here. That is also why you were required to stay in the village and not in the Jade Palace. I was told that this month would not only train you in ways I never could, but it would also help you to be connected with the community more. And I see for myself that it has done wonders for you."

"Why were you spying on us? And don't deny it," Po asked.

"I was watching from above because I wanted to see for myself how you all would become stronger. You didn't know it, Po and Tigress, but I saw your little spar when Crane asked Lu if she was going to stay here. I was amazed and surprised at how strong you two had become," Shifu smiled. Tigress and Po looked away embarrassed. That was the day Tigress kissed Po to get out of one of his holds.

"Okay," Po said moving on. "Why did you follow the dragon's instructions?"

"Po," Shifu said, directly addressing him, "you will learn that in life, there are certain things that you follow because of popular opinion. Then there are other things that you do because they are right. I knew you guys would turn out better, which is why I want to ask you something." Everyone looked at Master Shifu in anticipation. "I believe that you will still need some formal training from me but I do see the results of you living among the villagers. I want to propose that you all will come up the mountain for training sessions, important meetings, and emergency while you live and work in the valley." They all cheered.

"Master Shifu," Po asked. "Is it okay if I stay both here and at my father's shop. There is work to do both places."

"Of course," Master Shifu replied. "And another thing. I realize that some of you have gotten jobs best suited for you and the people there really needed you. So I will let you keep those jobs with the employer's permission and let you earn some extra money." They all cheered.

"That means I can still work for Mr. Kia," Crane said to Lu excitedly. Lu, unenthusiastically, said.

"Yay, more ashes." Crane smirked.

"If there are any more questions, please feel free to ask me after I talk with Po," Master Shifu said, worrying everyone. Would he not approve of Tigress and Po's relationship? Everyone slowly looked at Po before leaving. Tigress was the one who was worried the most. After they were all gone, Shifu spoke. "Po, I know that your relationship between Tigress and you has grown, and I did not need my telescope to know that. Do not worry, you're not in trouble," Shifu laughed, seeing how pensive Po was. "But I do want to know something. Do you love my daughter?" Both of them knew it was a stupid question, but Po replied.

"Master, you've known me how long and you don't know the answer to that question? I love her, Master Shifu, and I will protect her with all my strength," Po said firmly. Shifu smiled as he nodded.

"I have no doubts about that," He replied. "But I do hope that you will take your training seriously even though you have a happy relationship." Shifu rested his hand on Po's shoulder. Po smirked.

"You knew from the very beginning Tigress would be staying with me. That's why you weren't worried where she would be staying because you knew I would take care of her," Po observed. "Well played."

"You see, Po, you still have a lot to learn from me," Shifu grinned. "Now tell the others that I approve of the relationship so they don't get too worried. I will go to mediate." Po looked at him with an unbelieving smirk. "For real this time."

"Thank you Master Shifu," Po bowed as Shifu went to his mediation spot. Po went out to the kitchen to see everyone pacing around. When they saw him everyone rushed up to him. Po pretended to have a sad expression on.

"Well, what did he say," They all asked. Tigress nervously clutched Po's arm. Po gave a depressed sigh.

"He said," He paused dramatically. "He said to tell you guys..."

"Yes, yes," They asked impatiently.

"That he...he approves of the relationship," Po said now in a happy tone. Everyone cheered and Tigress hugged Po tightly. "Not so tight, Tigress! Your strength is still a lot for me to handle remember?" She gently let him go.

"Sorry," She said sweetly kissing on the cheek. Po grinned goofily.

"I'm going to like this life," Po mumbled to himself.

 **to be continued.**


	32. First Day of the Rest of Your Life

First Day of the Rest of Your Life

* * *

Things were really going well for the group of the Jade Palace. Their training had gone up, they were becoming stronger every day, and pretty soon the bandits had to band together to try and defeat them but they couldn't. Crane laid down on the grassy side of the Jade Palace Courtyard basking in the sun with a smile on his face. As he closed his eyes, he was remembering the time Po and Tigress were in the Training Hall trying to teach Po a move. Unfortunately, Po's clumsy feet stumbled and he landed on Tigress. The two would always get embarrassed when that happened even though they were together. Crane chuckled. "Funny," He mumbled as the sun's heat started to make him sleepy. Then he felt a shadow. He grumbled. "Monkey, please don't bother me. I had a long day at the metal shop," He muttered, but the shadow wouldn't move. Crane opened his eyes to see an orange and red blur. "Tigress?"

"It's a good thing I'm not Monkey, now is it," She mused as she sat by Crane. Crane lifted himself up to be upright. He was still a little sleepy. "You know, I'm starting to think you're becoming just as lazy-minded as Po."

"Hey, the guy does more work than I! Plus, he deals with you, so that's a lot of work for him," Crane snickered as Tigress punched him in the arm. "So what's up sis?" Tigress smiled. Lately, the Furious Five had become more attached to each other and began to call each other brother and sister.

"Nothing. What were you laughing at," Tigress asked.

"Oh, I was just remembering the time you and Po accidentally fell on each other," Crane said with a smirk. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"It was an accident!"

"Tigress, once is an accident. Fourteen times means something is wrong," Crane responded smugly, "And don't think I don't see that tail of yours casually sweeping around Po's feet." Tigress blushed. Her tail was the main cause of why Po and Tigress kept falling on each other, not Po. In reality, she actually liked Po being that close to her, even if it was a...compromising position.

"Does...everyone know that," Tigress asked.

"Umm...yes," Crane nodded. "Don't worry. I'm just glad you two don't fight anymore."

"We still do," Tigress sighed. "But the energy spent doing it is usually used up in the workplace. Like this one time we fought over something." She stretched her back, making it crack in several different places.

"Really," Crane said surprised. "Not to rekindle a fire but what was it about?"

"It was stupid. He wanted to get nunchucks, I wanted to get a staff-"

"Wait, you were arguing about what to get at the metal shop? Why didn't Mr. Kia tell me anything about it?"

"Because he clanged two cymbals so loudly that we had no choice but to stop arguing. But other than that, we haven't had a real argument."

"So he hasn't forgotten your birthday before," Crane asked knowingly.

"The opposite. He reminded me of my birthday. He was so excited about it. He decorated the Abandoned Place beautifully. He didn't use the old ones. He bought and made new ones. I couldn't stay mad at him for literally dragging me there," Tigress sighed lovingly. Crane laughed and honked. The ruckus must have alarmed someone inside because Lu came out.

"What's going on here," She asked. "Your honking is so loud it could probably be heard to the valley." Crane smiled as he stood up and kissed her.

"Good to see you, too, Lu," Crane soothed. Lu smirked.

"That smooth talk isn't going to get you far," She replied.

"Smooth talk? I don't know the kind," He said pretending to be dignified. Lu playfully pushed him away.

"And what are the two siblings doing," Lu asked.

"Oh I was just making sure that Crane wasn't becoming sluggish," Tigress said bouncing up. "What's the matter Lu?"

"Nothing, Po just wanted to talk to you," she replied. Crane and Tigress looked at each other with a curious stare. Without another word, Tigress went down the mountain to see Po giving soup to another customer. When he saw her, Po ran up to her and kissed her.

"It's good to see you, Tigress," Po smiled, but Tigress was confused.

"Didn't you send Lu up to get me," She asked. Po's eyes narrowed as he raise an eyebrow.

"No, I haven't seen Lu since yesterday." Why would Lu lie about something like that? Then an idea flew into her mind.

"Can I see your handheld telescope," She asked. Po gave it to her and she looked at the mountain. When she looked, she rolled her eyes at the sight. "Of course," She sighed.

"What," Po asked.

"She sent me down the mountain just to get some 'alone time' with Crane. I saw them kissing. Great, what am I suppose to do now?" She said as they went up to the kitchen. "Well, I don't know what to do otherwise." Just then, two villains came; Fenghuang and Taotie. Alright one real villain.

"Well, there's your answer," Po said getting into his fighting pose.

"Now, are you going to come over quietly," Taotie threatened. "Or do we-" Po punched him in the face before he could say anything else.

"Blah, blah, blah. Don't you ever shut up," Po said. Taotie got back up with the help of his iron claws of doom. Fenghuang waited for him to ware them out, but Tigress and Po just smiled confidently.

"Ready to put fighting style plan three into play," Po asked cracking his knuckles. Tigress nodded as Po lifted her high into the air. Po rolled into a ball and rushed at Taotie, but he caught Po.

"You think that would work?" the warthog laughed. Po popped out of his ball form.

"Nope, just a distraction," Po smirked. Tigress came down and hit the ground with such force it created a dust cloud. Po quickly got out of Taotie's grip and the two struck at the metal arms, destroying them by the time the dust cleared. Taotie laid in a heap of his own metal mech trash. "Now it's your turn," Po said looking toward's Fenghuang, but the owl had a captive pig in her wings. Tigress and Po rushed towards her.

"One more step and the pig gets it," the owl said. Po and Tigress stopped in their tracks. "And don't try that dust trap on me, or this little piggy isn't going home." Po looked up in the sky.

"We don't have to," Po said pointing at the sky. Fenghuang looked up. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her side and she was forced to the wall. It was a bluff and Tigress had punched her. It was so forceful, she fainted. "I guess she couldn't handle all of this awesomeness," Po said flexing his muscles. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Dragon Warrior," she said. "Let's get these guys back to Chor-gom."

 **to be continued.**


	33. A Great Beginning

A Great Beginning

* * *

The grass had finally grown in the little patch of ground Shifu was trying to cultivate. And it only took two years after the Month, as the others called it. Master Shifu sighed nervously and worriedly. He and Po had made a special deal that when the grass in the pot had grown, the panda would do something...personal. Shifu sighed again as he brought the pot to Po, who was in the kitchen with all the rest. When they saw his solemn expression, they were concerned. "Master Shifu, what's wrong," Tigress asked. Shifu presented the pot of grass for everyone to see. All the girls marveled but all the boys looked directly at Po who gulped. Po had told all the boys about his deal with Shifu. Well, everyone except Mantis. Po didn't think he could keep it secret.

"You finally got the grass to grow in the pot, Master," Lu said in amazement.

"Yes," He said almost woefully. "It was very hard, but I did it." He took a seat next to Ling.

"Master Shifu, what's wrong," Krista asked.

"Nothing, I'm just...a little worried about something else," Master Shifu replied. He looked in Po's direction. He could see him sweating now. Crane patted him on the shoulder, trying to give him some courage.

"Do you have it," He whispered to him. Po nodded. He went over to the sink where Tigress was finishing washing the dishes. Po's face was the story of a man who had stress on his shoulders, neck, legs, and face. Tigress was more than concerned.

"Po, what's wrong? Are you sick," Tigress asked placing her hand now his head.

"Ask me again when I am done talking to you," Po sighed, removing her hand.

"What is it?" Po rubbed the back of his head.

"Tigress, how long have we known each other," Po asked.

"About seven years. Why," She asked.

"Well, you're a very wonderful person and you help me with everything. You've been a great friend and an awesome girlfriend. But I want to change things." Tigress's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Are you breaking up with me?" All the men's faces tensed up and the women were pretty uncertain too.

"No! No! No! That's a mess-up I will never make! But...I want to do the opposite. I want to be with you in a special way."

"You mean more than you are right now," Tigress asked seriously not getting the point.

"No, I mean...for the rest of our lives," Po said taking something out of his pocket, a ring. Tigress finally realized what he was doing.

"Po, you mean-" Po kneeled as he presented the ring.

"Tigress Lily Xiang-hu," He said, shocking everyone figuring out that was her full name, "Will you marry me?" Time stood still. The air didn't move. Everyone stopped breathing. The author of this story was freaking out. Then finally-

"Yes, yes I will," She said overjoyed, making Po stand up and hugging him. All the girls rejoiced and all the guys exhaled in relief. Po put the ring on her finger. It was lovely. It was silver with a Yin-Yang sign in the middle with a beautiful Tiger lily picture designed into it. "Where did you get this?"

"He made it," Crane grumbled. "And to see the smile on your face, it was worth nearly burning down the metal shop," He fussed.

"Is that why you came back smelling like smoke more than usual," Lu asked. Crane nodded.

"And trust me, there were a lot of mistakes," Crane huffed in exhaustion. Po glared at him but Tigress pecked him on the lips, making him grin goofily.

"It's perfect," She said kissing him again. She could see that all the guys were relieved and exhausted. "All of you knew he was going to do this?"

"Shifu gave him until he could grow the grass in the pot," Monkey explained.

"Oh, that's why that thing always bothered you," Viper realized.

"But why didn't you tell me," Mantis asked offended.

"You, my dear hothead, wouldn't be able to handle delicate things like this," Po said bluntly.

"Well, we're glad for you," Krista mused. She whispered to Ling. "So what about you," She teased. Ling looked at her like she was about to kill him. She chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't rush you."

* * *

"So when were you going to tell me you weren't actually married," Han questioned. Po nervously sighed. He and his cousin had become great friends again. They were now talking during the wedding reception.

"Well," Po started as they both took a seat at a table, "I was going to tell you, but I didn't think it really mattered." Han smiled as he punched him in the arm playfully.

"I should be careful about that, though," He commented. "Your now wife isn't going to keep me alive if I hurt you too badly." Tigress still gave Han a hard time. Po theorized it was because he reminded her of Tai-Lung, and no one would want to remember him. Po always thought it sad that she and Tai-Lung never, at the very least, talked to each, but that was in the past. They both looked towards Tigress. Her beautiful white wedding dress with shining silver metal from the metal shop was stunning the crowd.

"Lu and Viper really do know how to make a dress," Po smiled.

"So, when can I see grandkids for Mr. Ping," Han smirked. Po blushed embarrassed.

"We're not there yet. Plus, I don't think it will be anytime soon. Our work does get in the way of...that happening," Po explained. Then his eyes were covered by two hands.

"Guess who," Said a voice, cheekily.

"Is it a lovely female tiger that gets more beautiful the more I see her," He asked. Tigress released his eyeballs.

"Well, I usually don't respond to flattery but I'll make an exception," Tigress replied. Po stood up and kissed her.

"Are you enjoying the party," Po smiled.

"Yes I am," Tigress smiled back. "And are you treating my husband well, Han?"

"Yes Master Tigress madam," He said very respectfully.

"Good," She said. Then she whispered to her husband. "They've given us the Abandoned Place as our house. They've even fixed it up better and bigger."

"Far away from any intruders, private and secluded, and alone with you, sounds almost too good to be true," Po smirked. Tigress smirked back. "But until then, we better make sure the guests are entertained."

"I can beat up Han for entertainment," Tigress offered.

"No, let's not do that," Han objected. Po laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't kill you," Po said. Then he felt someone tugging on his pants.

"Uncle Po, can I have some of the cake," said Zin. Po smiled at the little three year-old fox. Zin was the son of Gen and Lin. His parents had come over to join in the party. Po was Zin's godfather but Zin called him Uncle Po.

"Sure, Zin," Tigress smiled, picking him up, "We're just about to cut it. Why don't you play with little Ming? You two seem to like each other." She pointed to a shy little bunny girl. Zin smiled shyly at the bunny. Po and Tigress smiled as Zin went away.

"And another romance begins," Po sighed. Tigress kissed him again.

"I love you," She said.

"I love you, too," Po replied.

 **to be continued**


	34. A Happy Ending

A Happy Ending

* * *

Zeng slugged into the kitchen. He was tired. It had been a year since Po and Tigress's wedding. It was another year for the Master's Exchange program. Masters Crane, Monkey, Viper, Mantis, and Lu were all in a different place. However, unlike last time it wouldn't be for a month, just four weeks in separate months. Ling and Krista were away on their honeymoon. They had gotten married five months after Po and Tigress's wedding. Master Shifu had requested that no masters come to the Jade Palace this time, so it was only Tigress, Po, and Master Shifu. Master Shifu, however, was out of town on official business. So it was only Zeng, Tigress, and Po in the Jade Palace.

That, however, was _**not**_ why Zeng was so tired he had red eyes. No, the reason for him not getting enough sleep would be coming in the kitchen about...now! Tigress entered the kitchen with the happiest face that Zeng ever saw. She was quietly humming. She was in blissful ignorance of Zeng. Zeng just watched her walk around. Then, Tigress looked at Zeng. "Oh, hello Zeng," Tigress said casually.

"Three, two, one."

"Zeng," Tigress exclaimed whipping around to see him.

"Hello," Zeng greeted.

"I thought you were with Master Shifu on his mission," Tigress replied.

"No, I decided to stay here," Zeng sighed groaning.

"You look like you didn't sleep," Tigress commented.

"Oh no I didn't. Because for some reason I kept hearing noise from the barracks," Zeng said accusingly. Tigress blushed, embarrassed immensely.

"You heard us," She asked.

"Honey, the whole village hear it. Po didn't make a sound until one or two times. You, on the other hand, were screaming your lungs out. I guess you guys figured out what happens when he grabs your tail and you touch his left inner thigh, huh?"

"Hhhow did you know about that," Tigress asked shocked.

"Dear, I've been a lot of places with Master Shifu. You learn a lot," Zeng said simply. Then Po came in yawning and stretching his sore back.

"Hey Zeng," Po said casually. Then he stopped dead in his tracks. "I thought you were suppose to be with Master Shifu."

"I decided to stay. However, it turned out to be a bad choice. I'm going back to bed," Zeng said exiting the kitchen. "On the bright side, Mr Ping will hopefully have grandkids soon," He muttered. Tigress and Po looked at each embarrassed.

"I told you it was a bad place to do it," Tigress murmured.

"Hey, by the way you were making noise, I don't think Gongmen City would be far enough," Po argued, but he wrapped his arms around her waist. "But you loved it anyways." Tigress purred at the touch.

"I did," She purred. Po smiled as her tail wrapped around his leg.

"I love you, Lily," Po said kissing her cheek. Tigress giggled. Po would sometimes call her by her middle name, but only when others weren't around.

"I love you, too, Po," Tigress replied.

"You know, I can't believe that we're together. I thought you would never look at me more than a friend, or an acquaintance," Po commented. Tigress looked around nervously.

"Well, I...had a little crush on you when you first came, even though I was mean to you," She said blushing a bit. "You have to keep up appearances, you know?" Po rubbed her belly, making her purr and blush more. "Po stop that, that tickles."

"You're cute when you blush," Po replied, smiling. Tigress turned around to face him. "I had a major crush on you since you were first picked as the Furious Five." Tigress shocked.

"Really?"

"There's a reason why you were my favorite," Po smiled. Tigress smirked.

"You mean I'm not still your favorite," She asked.

"No, you're my wife now," Po grinned.

"So what are we going to do today, husband," Tigress said sweetly yet teasingly.

"Well, first we're going to go outside of the Jade Palace so Zeng can sleep," Po grinned. Tigress blushed. "Then we're going down to the valley to help out with the morning rush." Tigress grimaced.

"Aw, I wanted to enjoy my time off with you," Tigress pouted. Po shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Come on, you know you love working there. I have to pry you sometimes from the kitchen," Po commented. Tigress didn't look at him. She didn't trust her face to be firm. Po hugged her tighter around the waist. Tigress's smile slowly crept up, until Po lightly brushed Tigress's tail. Then she burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay," She laughed as Po stopped. "I'll go, but," She said as he brought him closer to her, "you have to make it up to me."

"Don't I always," Po said confidently.

"Nope," Tigress replied. Po frowned as she smiled widely.

"That's not what you were saying last night," Po said to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Po recovered. "Let's get to work." He kissed her again as Tigress caressed his face.

"Po, what do you think our baby would be like," Tigress asked. Po hadn't thought about that yet. Po smiled.

"She'll just be like you, Astounding, Astonishing, and, of course, Awesome," Po replied. Tigress smiled.

"I love you," Tigress said.

"I love you, too," Po replied as they kissed again.

* * *

Many years later stood a young girl about fourteen years of age, a miracle to Tigress and Po. She had a pretty little pink flower in the crook of her ear as she practiced her stances. Her white and black striped fur along with her green eyes made her a very beautiful person. With her blue vest and white pants, she was also very capable. She slowly went from one stance to another to another. As she was about to finally finish, she was caught by a hand on her shoulder. She whirled around and had her hands on the person. "Easy, Lily," said a young fox. "It's just me." Lily slowly released her grip from the fox that was older than her by three years.

"Sorry, Zin. You startled me," Lily confessed. She didn't like saying she was surprised.

"Yeah, something I will not repeat," Zin said rubbing his throat. "Where is Qiang?"

"I haven't seen him. He's probably with his parents," Lily shrugged. Then they heard a great commotion. "Or getting in trouble," Lily sighed. The two ran to the scene of the crime. Qiang was in the Training Hall trying to punch the dummy. Unfortunately, the dummy knocked him back, threw him into the rolling stage, tossed him into the balancing turtle, and shot him into the pits of fire. He came out completely covered in black. He nervously smiled at Lily. His smile was the only thing visible other than his eyes. Lily looked at the small little bird. "Qiang, what did we say?"

"Don't go into the Training Hall unless you're there," The small crane said sadly.

"And," Lily asked.

"Don't turn on the Training Hall," He said sadly. "But I survived without you guys' help," He came back. Lily's stern look didn't falter.

"You could have been hurt," Lily said. Qiang huffed.

"Mom isn't that worried about me," He replied.

"That's because she trusts us to protect you," Zin answered. That wasn't entirely true. The reason why Lu didn't worry about Qiang getting hurt was because she knew he was capable. Crane himself wanted to make sure that he wasn't overprotective about Qiang. Lily, however, was overprotective about everyone, even the adults. Which reminded her.

"Zin, can you make sure that Qiang stays safe? I have to go to Grandpa Shifu," Lily explained. Zin nodded. Lily went off to the Hall of Heroes. She bowed to the mediating master. Her father, Po was there too. "Master Shifu, you called," Lily said respectfully. Shifu chuckled.

"I've told you young one to call me, Grandpa Shifu," he said. Lily still stood at attention. Po sighed. She was just like her mother. "I just wanted to see my favorite granddaughter. Today is a special day," Shifu said. Lily was confused as she walked with Shifu to where Po was standing.

"What is today," Lily asked.

"Today is your parents' anniversary," Po explained. Lily's face lit up with excitement. Po smiled.

"What are we going to do for mom," She asked.

"Wait and see," Po said excitedly.

Tigress was in the Training Hall practicing. She had been complaining that she had gotten a fat from the years of working the shop. This, of course, wasn't true in the least but she did it none the less. Just then, Lily came in. "Mom! Mom! Grandpa Shifu needs you, quick," She said.

"What's wrong," Tigress asked as she went.

"Just come," She urged as they both ran to Mr. Ping's shop. As Tigress ran in, she got a surprise.

"Surprise," everyone shouted. It was a celebration for her marriage to Po. Po smiled as he presented her a basket of flowers. Tigress was speechless.

"You remembered," She whispered.

"Of course, the day we got married is the best day of my life," Po said. Tigress smirked at him. "No seriously. Becoming the Dragon Warrior comes second." Tigress kissed him.

"You want to know something," She whispered. "I may have...forgotten our anniversary." She hoped he wasn't upset. Po laughed.

"It's alright. Just being married to you is a great enough gift for me," Po said as they hugged each other. Lily squeezed in between them. She came to their chests. "Well that and Lily." Lily squeezed her present through, giving it to both of them and squeezed out. Tigress chuckled. Han, Monkey, Jin, Lin, Gen, and all of their friends came out here. Zin was looking around the party when he bumped into a friend of his. A good friend.

"Oh, Ming! It's um...good to see you," Zin said nervously. Ming was still shy.

"Well, good to see you, too," the bunny replied. "Do you...um want to get some food?"

"Ssure," He replied. Po and Tigress looked around the family they had. Ling was talking with Crane and Lu while petting Krista's pregnant belly. Ming and Zin were now laughing with each other. Monkey and Jin were with Lin and Gen discussing old pranks they use to do. Master Shifu was arguing with Mr. Ping about their game of Mahjong; Mr. Ping actually won. Mantis, Viper, and Viper's parents examined the dress Lu and Viper made for Tigress. Po smiled at Tigress, still in their embrace. Tigress's face grimaced when she touched his scar. Po still smiled. The scar was across his eyelid and went down to his cheek and up to just past his eyebrow. He had gotten the scar from Tigress while she was being a bit...(coughs) rough.

"I'm sorry for giving you that," She apologized.

"Don't worry, you've hit me in much worse places. Plus, it makes me look cooler," Po said heroically. Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Sure," She said kissing him on the cheek. "I'm just sorry I was so rough on you." Po smirked. "What are you thinking?" Po lightly yanked her tail making her yelp in surprise. "Po, don't you dare," She warned.

"That's not the only time you're rough," Po smirked confidently. Tigress smirked back.

"You really are a one of a kind panda," Tigress said kissing him on the lips. "That's why I love you." She hugged him tightly.

"I love you, too," Po replied. Lily squeezed in again.

"I love you, two," Lily smiled.

"Group hug," Viper shouted as everyone tightly hugged together.

Funny what a month will do to you.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Another soon to be classic. I thank all of you for your patience and your support of this fanfic. And yet there are** **still others that need to be written. Until then, I thank you for making this the most reviewed story I've ever made.**


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